


Hermione Granger And The Mage of The Underland

by angelholme



Series: The Seer [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Girl!Blaise, Part Two, hv2, the dreamland, the underland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-04-27 07:59:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 84,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5040406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelholme/pseuds/angelholme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, and it is causing Luna more problems than you can imagine</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer**
> 
> Harry Potter (et al) belong to JK Rowling
> 
> The Dreamland is based on a mix of Disney Infinity and Minecraft.
> 
> The Underland is based on a mix of Bullet Witch and Minecraft.
> 
> Names for Castles, Bases and Pets in The Dreamland & The Underland are copyright to those who own/created them.
> 
> The original concept of the story is based on "The Oracle Saga" written by Mike Resnick - a trilogy well worth reading.
> 
>  
> 
> **Notes**
> 
>  
> 
> This is part two of The Seer series, following on from "Harry Potter and The Regent of The Dreamland". I suggest reading that first, or this will not make a lot of sense.

"Luna, may I introduce Hermione Jane Granger, First Year Hufflepuff and my good and dear friend" Harry said, hovering above her on the back of Sir Hugsalot "Hermione, this is Luna Callisto Lovegood, my best friend and The Regent of The Dreamland" Hermione's gazed flicked between the two of them, then she took a step back and gave a polite bow to Luna. Luna looked over at Harry, and laughed.

"I think I'm going to like her"


	2. Welcome To The Underland

**Now**

"DUCK!" Harry dropped to the floor at Luna's yell, then winced as a pair of crossbow bolts shot over his head.

"Break right! Right!" Luna yelled again, and Harry rolled over to his right. Bounding to his feet, he drew his sword and ran to the right of the corridor. Without looking round, he felt Luna come up on his left, still brandishing her crossbow.

"So - this is fun" Harry said, smiling at his friend. She grinned back.

"You said this would make the perfect headquarters, dear" She said, raising the crossbow in front of her face. A moment later, she fired two more bolts and Harry smiled as the monster that had been shambling towards them collapsed on the floor, dead.

"Solid walls, a landing area on the roof for Nirnaeth, Hugsy, Belle-Anna and Galadriel and the automatic cross-bow emplacements will come in handy if we encounter the spiders again" Harry pointed out "If we are going to keep coming down to The Underland, then we're going to need somewhere to store the weapons and supplies"

"I suppose" Luna said, then pressed herself against the side of the corridor. Without thinking, Harry mirrored her move and flattened himself against the stone wall to his right. 

"Thomone'th coming" Luna said quietly, lisping her words to ensure her voice didn't carry farther than necessary. He nodded, then raised his sword above his head, ready to strike downward at a moment's notice.

A few seconds later, he heard footsteps coming towards them. Tensing, he tightened his grip on the sword. 

A second after that, he saw a shadow loom up in front of them, but as he brought the sword swinging down, Luna whipped the crossbow out, blocking his strike.

"LU!" He yelled in surprise, but she simply smiled back at him.

"I know you want to kill something with your shiny new sword, dear, but if you take Hermione's head off she will be REALLY pissed off when she wakes up" 

xoxox

**Eight weeks before**

"I can just wish for something and it will appear?" Hermione stared at Harry and Luna sceptically.

"Yes but be careful" Luna cautioned "In an idle moment, I created a vvraxxal in my castle's keep. It ran amok for nearly two hours before Nirnaeth managed to subdue and destroy it"

"You couldn't destroy it the same way you created it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"In theory, yes" Luna admitted "But by that point it was a living creature, and it seemed somewhat..... wrong to just wish it out of existence" Hermione stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. Harry smiled, then looked at Hermione.

"I think the first thing you need is to create some kind of steed" He said with a smile "As you can see, Luna and I have dragons, but as long as your steed can fly, you can pretty much create whatever you want"

"As long as it's an animal" Luna interjected "I mean - you could create a plane, or a helicopter, but I've been trying to keep technology out of here as much as possible"

"You created a CCTV system" Harry pointed out.

"Powered by magic and with no mechanical parts" Luna countered. Harry rolled his eyes.

"One thing you will learn about Miss Lovegood is she has an answer for everything" Harry told Hermione affectionately "It is, on occasion, very aggravating"

"But you still love me, right?" Luna fluttered her eyelids at him in an exaggerated manner.

"How could I not?" Harry replied with a laugh. Hermione watched the byplay, smiling slightly to herself.

"So I can create any creature, as long as it can fly?" She asked, causing both of them to turn and look at her. 

"Yes" They nodded in unison, then Luna added "But if you could steer clear of any of the darker creatures, we would take it as a kindness"

"I will do my best" Hermione smiled, then she closed her eyes. A few moments later, Luna and Harry looked round as a light purple horse faded into view. Hermione opened her eyes, then smiled. 

"A horse?" Harry asked curiously, but Hermione held her hand up.

"Galadriel?" She called out. The horse turned to face her, then - with what appeared to be a smile on its face - spread a pair of majestic purple wings. 

"Harry, Luna - may I introduce Galadriel" Hermione said proudly. Harry and Luna exchanged glances, then they both smiled.

"Welcome" Luna said.

xoxox

**Now**

"This floor is clear" Hermione said as she, Harry and Luna walked back down the corridor "I realise we should possibly have thought about this earlier, but what we are going to do with the bodies?"

"Incinerator in the basement" Luna replied at once.

"There's an incinerator in the basement?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"I think this place used to be a hospital" Luna explained "The basement seems to be half morgue and half burn room" She paused "Disposing of medical waste and.... well - you get the idea" Hermione nodded, but Harry looked at her in confusion.

"If a body is contaminated with a deadly, infectious disease, the hospital sometimes cremates it on site" Hermione explained "To prevent epidemics or pandemics" 

"Oh" Harry paused "That's kind of gross" 

"The Spanish Flu infected a third of the population of the world" Hermione replied "And the 1572 outbreak of Malgera Fever killed nearly fifteen percent of the magical world"

"Wow" Harry exhaled.

"Less gross?" Luna asked.

"No - still gross, but more understandable" Harry gave her a slight smile "So do we move the bodies down now? Or do we go through and sort out the rest of the building?"

"We've got two more floors to go" Luna said, pulling a sheaf of parchments out of her robes "And I would say we have maybe two hours before morning"

"From what we've seen, this place will stay the same if we leave and come back" Hermione nodded.

"So we lock the doors, take off from the roof and return to HQ?" Harry asked.

"I'd rather get rid of as many monsters as we can" Luna said quietly "I know it seems unlikely, but some of them seem to be more intelligent than others and if just one of them figures out how to open the doors on the ground floor, or the trapdoor up to the landing pad......"

"Then we could return to find this place as full as it is now" Harry nodded reluctantly.

"You realise if we leave the bodies where they are, then by the time we come back they could be...... squishy" Hermione said.

"Squishy?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"In the real world, bodies decompose" Hermione said "Did your aunt ever forget food in the freezer or leave fruit out too long?" 

"Ewwwwwwwwww" Harry moaned, then looked at Luna "You know - I know this is a better place for training and so on, but all things considered, I would much rather be back at The Fort"

xoxox

**Eight Weeks Before**

Following Luna's lead, Hermione guided her flying pony down towards the cloud surface, then her eyes went wide as a magnificent castle came into view.

"Hermione - may I present the fair and noble castle of Gondolin" Luna said with a proud smile.

"It's awesome" Hermione let out a slow exhalation of breath "Gondolin? From The First Age?"

"The last hold out against the dark enemy of the north" Luna nodded "It seemed like a suitable name" Hermione looked at her curiously "I'll explain later"

"Okay" Hermione nodded, then looked at Harry, who was flying in formation behind her "How about you, Mr Potter? Do you have a castle as well?"

"Castle Dreadnought on the cloud island of Farhang" Harry nodded "It's a fair way north from here - round about where Hogwarts is in the real world"

"I'm guessing that's not a co-incidence?" Hermione asked.

"Harry and I both live in Surrey" Luna said "Which is why Gondolin is here. But he spends most of his time at Hogwarts, which is why he built Dreadnought in that area" She smiled "Building a castle is just as easy as bringing your steed to life, but I thought you would want to see some examples before trying it yourself" 

"Thank you" Hermione looked back at the spires and turrets of Gondolin "Although after this, I am sure anything I do won't look anywhere near as good"

"Probably not" Luna replied cheekily "But I have had a few years more practice. You'll get the hang of it eventually, and - to be honest - if you don't like what you've created, you can wipe it out and start again"

"Cool" Hermione smiled.

"So - you want to see inside?"

xoxox

**Now**

"I've been giving some thought to that" Luna admitted "If or when we invite Sally into ou5 little coven, do you think we should relocate the fort to the mid-point of all our castles, or leave it where it is?" She looked at her two friends "The advantage of having it where it is is that it's almost directly over this place, so the trip between The Dreamland and The Underland won't be too long, or dangerous"

"But if Sally's castle is going to be further out than most of ours....." Harry trailed off, nodding "She's already going to be a little pissed off that we left her out of this for so long"

"I know" Luna sighed.

"On the other hand" Hermione pointed out "Sally's castle could be next door to The Fort and we'll all be further away" Luna and Harry turned to stare at her "Just thinking positive"

"Always a good idea" Luna grinned brightly at her, then turned and looked further down the corridor "So - shall we go and see what's left?"

xoxox

**Eight Weeks Ago**

"You are sure this is the place?" Harry looked around the cloud, then looked back at Luna. 

"You doubt me?" She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry - don't know what I was thinking" He laughed, then looked back at the cloud "So - what do we want? A castle to repel boarders or a place to kick back and have fun?" 

"If we're going to use it as a headquarters, I'd say a mix of both" Hermione replied, climbing off the back of her winged horse "Rooms for all of us - even Neville and Sally, space for our winged friends here and maybe an armoury?"

"I also want a cinema type place for memories and so on" Luna added "I've created a smaller version at Gondolin, but with everything that's coming, I think we'll need a bigger place - one where we can examine the memories from all sides"

"What's coming?" Hermione asked. Harry and Luna exchanged glances, then Luna looked over at their friend.

"How about we talk about that later?" She said, then raised her hand when Hermione started to object "I know we've kept secrets from you in the past, and that the end of term threw up a lot of questions, but if you can trust us a little while longer, I promise we will tell you everything we can"

"Everything you can?" Hermione gave her a wry smile.

"You've been in The Dreamland four days, Miss Granger" Luna smiled back "You can't expect to learn all our secrets at once" Before Hermione could say anything else, Luna looked back towards the centre of the cloud island.

"So - here's what I was thinking" She closed her eyes, then raised her hands "Ready?"

"Ready" Harry nodded.

"Ready" Hermione nodded.

"Okay then" Without opening her eyes, Luna smiled. Then she began moving her hands - conducting a silent symphony played by an invisible orchestra. Harry and Hermione watched in quiet awe as the walls of a castle began to fade in to view - appearing randomly at first, then, as they continued to watch, in more of a pattern.

Half an hour later, Luna took a deep breath, then lowered her hands. Opening her eyes, she smiled.

"Mister Potter, Miss Granger - may I present The Fort"

xoxox

**Now**

The three friends came to the end of the corridor, and stopped.

"So - where do we go now?" Hermione asked "Up or down?"

"We've cleared out all the floors below, and closed the doors as we came up" Luna said "Assuming that none of these things can open doors, the three floors below us - as well as the basement - should be secure" 

"And this floor?" Hermione looked around.

"There's the room through there" Harry pointed to the door just before the staircase that lead up to the next floor "I am pretty sure we haven't been in there"

"We haven't" Luna said "I was leaving it until there were three of us together - it's going to take all of us to deal with" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I realise that this talent of her's saved my parents' life, but you have to admit - it is kind of annoying when she does that"

"Tell me about it" Harry said with a laugh, while Luna pretended to pout at them.

xoxox

**Six Weeks Ago**

Luna sat bolt upright in her bed, staring around her bedroom in panic. Gulping in air, she screwed her eyes shut and tried to force her breathing to slow down. 

After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and looked around the room again.

"It's not on fire" She said to herself quietly "Privet Drive isn't burning" She paused, then slowly lay back in bed. Bracing herself, she closed her eyes again, running over the last few minutes of her dream again.

_She stood in the centre of a room - a room that was burning. The curtains, the wallpaper, the carpet - even the air itself seemed to be on fire._

_She tried to take a breath, but the heat made her start choking, and she nearly threw up._

_"This is a vision" She heard her own voice whisper in her head, and suddenly - to her surprise - the flames froze. The curtains stopped flapping in the heat and a part of the ceiling that looked like it was going to collapse was floating in mid air._

_"This is a vision" The voice whispered again, and suddenly she found she could move. Turning on the spot, she saw a door in between the frozen wall of flame, and walked over to it. Pulling it open, she peered out into a surprisingly flame free corridor._

_"This is a vision" The voice spoke a third time as she walked down the corridor. As she reached the end, she found another door and pulled it open without hesitation._

_Looking inside, she saw a girl lying on her bed, reading a book._

"Oh god" Luna's eyes shot open "Hermione" She let out a long slow breath, then closed her eyes again.

"Come sweet slumber......" She whispered, but was asleep before she finished the sentence.

xoxox

**Now**

"Any suggestions on how we should handle this, oh wise one?" Hermione asked as she and Harry drew their swords while Luna raised her crossbow.

"Same formation as when we encountered the attack rabbits" Luna smiled "I can do the most damage, but I need protection to reload between doing that damage" She paused "Up for making sure I don't get horribly torn apart?" 

"When are we not?" Harry grinned at her, then turned to face the door. Glancing at Hermione, he moved to the left. Hermione nodded, and moved to the right.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"Not in any sense of the word" Hermione replied with a smile.

"Three. Two. One. CHARGE!" Harry pushed the door open with his foot, and he and Hermione ran inside.

xoxox

**Six Weeks Before**

"HERMIONE!" Luna's voice echoed through her castle as she ran up the stairs towards the study. Seconds later, she crashed through the door, looking around.

"Luna?" Harry stared at her in surprise.

"Where's Hermione?" She asked.

"Hermione....." Harry started, but Luna shook her head.

"Cover your ears" She said, and - almost reflexively - he put his hands over his ears.

"HERMIONE!" Even with his hands over his ears, Harry winced at the sheer volume Luna generated. She gestured at him to lower his hands "Sorry, sweetie, but we have to find her" Before he could respond, she turned and bolted out of the study, heading back to the main stairway.

"Okay" Harry stared after her, then got up and followed her out of the room.

He caught up with her at the bottom of the stairs, but continued to follow her as she ran out into the courtyard of Castle Gondolin.

"Luna? What's going on?" He asked. She glanced at him, but then looked up as Galadriel flew over them, then wheeled round and came into land.

"HERMIONE!" Luna ran over to her before she dismounted "You have to wake up! Your house is on fire and you and your parents are going to die!" Hermione stared at her blankly.

"If she says it's true, it's true" Harry walked up behind Luna, face serious.

"How do you......" Hermione started, but Luna threw her hands up in the air.

"There's no time!" She said, then she stared into Hermione's eyes "Sorry about this, Hermione, but it's the only way" Hermione continued to stare at her, then gasped in surprise as Luna conjured a dagger, and plunged it into her chest.

xoxox

**Now**

"Well - that was entertaining" Harry stared down at the corpse of the creature lying in the centre of the room, then up at Hermione who was covered in some kind of slimy substance "If this is a hospital, do you think it had a shower?" 

"There was down the corridor" Luna said "Two doors up on the right" She paused "If you want to go ahead, we'll wait for you"

"Can you come with me?" Hermione asked, then blushed "Luna - can you come with me and Harry can you wait outside?" 

"Consider it done" Luna and Harry replied in unison.

xoxox

**Six Weeks Ago**

"How did you know?" Hermione asked as Luna flew Nirnaeth down into the courtyard of Castle Anthrax. Luna brought her dragon to a halt, then climbed off her.

"Are they alright?" Luna asked as they walked into the entrance hall of Hermione's castle.

"When I woke up, I smelled smoke" Hermione said quietly "The toaster had burst into flames, but I managed to catch it before it spread to the rest of the kitchen, or the house" She lead them into the drawing room, then gestured for Luna to sit down.

"And your parents?" Luna pressed, taking a seat opposite Hermione.

"The kitchen was filled with smoke, but the alarm didn't go off" Hermione sighed "After I got the fire out, I went back upstairs to tell them - they are both fine" Luna let out a long sigh of relief "Your turn"

"One more question" Luna said "Have you been keeping up with your occlumency and your vault room?" 

"Yes - aside from last night, I have been practising every day since you brought me here" Hermione replied, nodding emphatically "Want to try me?"

"No" Luna shook her head "But after I tell you what I am going to tell you, you will need to make sure it is perfect and utterly impenetrable. My life will depend on it" Hermione's eyes widened. 

"I swear" Hermione said sincerely, raising three fingers on her right hand "Girl Guide's honour"

"You're a guide?" Luna asked with a laugh.

"Well - Brownies honour" Hermione admitted "But either way - I will protect it with my life"

"I know" Luna smiled, then took a deep breath "This is going to seem strange, and somewhat fantastical, but if you just go with it until I am finished, it will go a lot easier" 

"Okay" Hermione nodded.

"So here's the thing" Luna took another breath "I can see the future, and I can make it happen"

xoxox

**Now**

Hermione glanced at the door, then at Luna.

"He won't come in" Luna said, rolling her eyes.

"I know" Hermione gave her a wry smile, then started stripping out of her clothes. She then climbed into the shower and turned it on, while Luna took the discarded clothes in to the next stall and started to wash them out.

"You know cleaning out this place would be a great deal easier if this place worked like The Dreamland" Hermione said as she let the water stream over her. 

"I know" Luna sighed "I'm still not sure why it's so different - but, on the other hand, it does make for a perfect place for learning the skills we have to learn"

"I suppose" Hermione stretched, then leaned forward, shoving her head under the shower head "Is there a towel out there?"

"Hold on" Luna turned and hung Hermione's clothes on the nearest sink, then took two towels out of the nearest hamper. Putting them up to her nose, she sniffed them, then smiled. 

"Here you go" She said, passing them into her friend. 

"Thanks" Hermione replied "I'll just be a minute or so" 

"Take your time" Luna replied "I've still got to figure out how to dry your clothes" 

xoxox

**Five Weeks Before**

Harry, Luna and Hermione flew their mounts over the edge of the clouds, then - exchanging glances - they all leaned forward, heading towards the world that existed under The Dreamland.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hermione asked, staring at the wide expanse of dessert below them.

"We have to explore it eventually" Luna said "I am pretty sure the temple you mentioned is down here somewhere - who knows what else we might find"

"That's kind of what worries me" Hermione replied, almost in a whisper "I mean - you've seen what we can create up here....." She stared at the dessert again "Imagine the chaos we could create down there if we get it wrong"

"Then we'll be careful" Harry said with a smile, then - when Hermione rolled her eyes at him - he added "What's life without a little risk?"

"Longer? Safer? Better?" Hermione replied, making him laugh.

"Hufflepuffs" He said with a grin "No sense of adventure" Both Luna and Hermione turned to stare at him "I know, I know" 

The trio flew on in silence until they were just above the ground, then Luna brought Nirnaeth to a halt, with Hermione and Harry following suit.

"So where should we go?" Luna asked, looking around.

"How about we start somewhere simple?" Harry suggested "We land, walk around a bit, then see what happens" Hermione shrugged.

"Seems like a good plan" She said, then Luna nodded.

"Okay then" She patted Nirnaeth, who flew down and gently alighted on the ground. While Hermione and Harry hovered above, Luna dismounted and lowered her feet to the ground.

"Well - it's solid" She said with a smile, then she jumped up and down "Come on you two - lets go" Harry laughed, then they both landed their steeds and climbed off them.

"So...... Luna? What's that?" Harry pointed off to the west. The two girls turned and followed his finger to where a large cloud of dust was moving towards them at high speed.

"Not sure" Luna admitted "But I guess this is our chance to find out what this world can do" She looked at them "Want to leave?"

"No" Harry shook his head.

"Maybe" Hermione admitted.

"Galadriel - come guard your mistress" Luna said without turning, and Hermione smiled as the winged horse slowly walked forward and came to a halt next to her. Hugsalot and Nirnaeth also moved out to flank the trio, watching as the dust cloud came closer and closer.

"Here we go" Luna said, then blinked in surprise "Seriously?"

xoxox

**Now**

Towel wrapped around her, Hermione walked out of the shower stall to find Luna holding her knickers under the hand-dryer.

"I guess that works" She said with a smile "And I always like my pants fresh out of the dryer warm" Luna laughed.

"If you want to make this go faster, you could deal with your pants"

"By your command" Hermione nodded.

xoxox

**Five Weeks Ago**

_"Seriously?"_ Luna blinked in surprise, then raised her hands as she watched the swarm of spiders charging towards them.

"Luna? I know you frown on using direct action on living creatures, but......" Hermione trailed off.

"If we need to" Luna nodded "Maybe they are just lonely - they haven't had friends down in a while and they are rushing over to greet us" Harry and Hermione both gave her an identical expression, and she burst in to laughter "My mother used to give my dad exactly the same expression - never entirely understood why until this moment" They all looked back, then Luna raised her hand.

"Let me try first" She said, then she threw her hands forward in a banishing motion. 

xoxox

**Now**

Harry turned as the door to the shower room opened, and Hermione and Luna came out.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

"Much" Hermione smiled "And I definitely think this place should become our headquarters when we are down here - I don't know who built them but those showers are amazing"

"We'd need to set up a drying room though" Luna interjected "We can't be drying your knickers under the hand-dryers every day" Harry blushed while Hermione rolled her eyes.

"But they come out so warm!" Hermione gave Harry a cheeky grin, then she picked up her sword from where it was leaning against the wall "Let's go - I think he's been waiting long enough"

xoxox

**Five Weeks Ago**

_"Let me try first" She said, then she threw her hands forward in a banishing motion._

Nothing happened.

"Well - huh" Luna stared at her hands, then she repeated the banishing moment.

Nothing happened again.

"Guys - I think we have a problem" She said. Harry raised his hands, then tried to conjure a wall in front of them. When no wall appeared, he frowned.

"Hermione? Anything?" He asked. Hermione tried to produce a ball of fire, but came up empty handed.

"So we have no power - no ability to produce anything" Luna said, then she started backing up "Nirnaeth, Hugsy, Galadriel - lets go" 

Less than a minute later, they were up in the air, flying back towards Gondolin.

xoxox

**Now**

When they reached the top of the stairs, Luna raised her hand, bringing the other two to a halt. 

"There's someone round the corner" She said in an almost silent voice.

"Good guy?"

"Don't know" Luna replied "But I think we should surprise them" She put her crossbow down, then drew her sword from the scabbard on her back.

"Okay" Hermione nodded "Three?"

"Three. Two. One. NOW!" They raised their swords and charged round the corner, screaming like banshees, then skidded to a halt when they realised who they were attacking.

"Woah - deja vu all over again" Neville said, grinning at them.

xoxox

**Two Weeks Ago**

"Woah - what's that over there?" Hermione pointed down to the ground below them.

"Looks like....." Luna peered down "Looks like a greenhouse"

"Yeah - like the ones at Hogwarts" Harry nodded "Shall we go have a look?"

"I suppose" Luna shrugged "We don't have anything else to do, do we?" The other two shook their heads, then all three flew down and landed outside the greenhouse complex.

"Think it'll be dangerous?" Harry asked, resting his hand on the sword attached to his belt. Since their first trip to The Underland, they had all started carrying weapons whenever they flew down beneath the clouds.

"Lets play it by ear" Luna replied "Looks like it is creature free, but there are some breeds of plants that need to be handled correctly or they can be a little dangerous"

"Wonderful" Hermione rested her hand on her sword hilt as well, then they moved inside the entrance to the complex.

"This is kind of pretty" Harry said, looking around. "Whoever built this - cultivated this - did a good job" 

"Thank you" All three friend span round, raising their weapons, then stopped as they realised who they were facing "Harry? Hermione? What are you doing here"

"NEVILLE?" 

xoxox

**Now**

"The bottom floors are all clear" Luna said "We've sealed the doors behind us, so this floor and the one above should be all that's left" 

"Okay" Neville nodded "I haven't seen any creatures or monsters up here, but I've only really explored a few rooms" He pointed to his left "The operating theatres are that way. I admit I don't know a lot about muggle medicine, but they look pretty antiquated" He looked over to the right "That side looks like the infirmary at Hogwarts" He paused "Not sure about the rest - I didn't want to go too far an encounter any monsters"

"Good plan" Hermione smiled, then she looked at the other two "So - split in to two teams?"

"Okay" Luna nodded "You want to go with our gardener here?" 

"You and Harry seem to work well together" Hermione pointed out "You don't mind?"

"Not at all" Luna grinned "Left or right?"

xoxox

**Two Weeks Ago**

"I started dreaming of this place about six, eight weeks ago" Neville explained as he lead Harry, Hermione and Luna around the greenhouse "After I got home from school, I was a little lonely - I live with my Gran in a huge estate, but it is just us and one or two house-elves" He shrugged "You know what I am like about plants - well, plants and history - so coming here every night made the loneliness a little more bearable" 

"Have you explored outside?" Luna asked.

"No" Neville shook his head "I didn't even realise there was an outside until you three arrived" He paused "And if what you've told me about the spiders and other monsters is true, I'm kind of glad"

"It's not that bad" Luna waved her hand to where they had landed "But if you want to see something truly great - something that will make you a lot happier and a lot less lonely" 

"There's somewhere else?" Neville looked at her in surprise.

"Oh yes" Luna smiled "Somewhere you are going to want to see"

xoxox

**Now**

"Is this place as old fashioned as I thought?" Neville asked as he and Hermione made their way through the suite of operating theatres.

"Pretty much, yeah" Hermione nodded "I mean - based on the tv programs I've seen, most of this looks like it came from the last century or so" She paused "And some of it wouldn't be out of place in a torture chamber"

"You have tv programs about torture chambers?" Neville asked in surprise, then he blinked "What's a tv program?"

"Long story" Hermione smiled, then her smile faded "And my parents let me watch history and documentary programs while they are out at work - some of them are not so nice" She shivered "Anyway - whoever created this hasn't been to a modern hospital"

"But the showers...." Neville pointed out "They are fairly modern?" Hermione tilted her head to one side.

"More modern than this" She waved her hand around the room "But I think the muggle world does have more advanced ones" She frowned "This whole place doesn't really make a lot of sense" 

"It's a world we come to when we dream" Neville shrugged "When do dreams ever make sense?"

xoxox

**Two Weeks Ago**

"Wow" Neville stared at Castle Anthrax, then looked back at Hermione "You created this?" 

"The Dreamland" Hermione replied "Harry and Luna think they have figured out where your home is. If you want to create your own castle, we can fly there now" Neville smiled.

"Okay" He said, then yawned "Except it may have to wait until tomorrow - I think I am about to wake up"

"Ah" Hermione smiled "Based on experience, when you wake up tomorrow, you will wake up on your new cloud" She paused "I suggest either waiting there, or creating a steed of some kind"

"Like Nirnaeth and Galadriel?"

"As long as it can fly, and doesn't attempt to eat us, you can create whatever you want" She paused "Although if you steer clear something the dragons are likely to want to eat, that would probably be good as well" 

"I'll give it some thought" Neville nodded, then yawned again "Sorry - it's been a long...... night? Day?"

"Night" Hermione replied "You're still asleep, back at Longbottom Hall"

"Oh yeah" Neville shook his head "That's going to take some getting used to" He yawned for a third time, then closed his eyes "Time for me to go" He said, then - before either of them could say another word - he vanished.

xoxox

**Now**

"Neville - would you like to do the honours?" The four friends had met up on the top floor after clearing out second to last one, and had hacked, blasted and carved their way through the army of monsters that had apparently gathered up there.

Fifty minutes later, they had made it through to the last room, and had cornered the final monster - a three headed snake thing that breathed fire - and pushed it back against the wall.

"Thank you" Neville grinned, then holding his sword up, he took two steps forward and decapitated the three heads in a single blow. The headless corpse fell to the ground, forcing Neville to jump back as the blood squirted out of the three necks.

"Well that's disgusting" Hermione said, then blinked in surprise as the corpse - and the three decapitated heads - vanished "Okay - less disgusting" She looked at the others "If all the other monsters did that, this would be a great deal easier" 

"Tell me about it" Luna leaned against the nearest wall, and closed her eyes "Guys - I think it's nearly time" 

"We have been here a while" Harry nodded "You're sure all the doors are sealed?"

"Once we go up onto the roof and lock the trapdoor down, the building will be sealed shut - we can come back tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow to clean up the bodies" Luna smiled "The incinerators should do the job pretty well, but getting them down there is going to be hard work" She paused "Anyone want to put it off until the day after, and tomorrow we just play?"

"Sounds like a good idea" Neville grinned, and Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Then we'll call it settled" Luna smiled, then lead the three of them back into the main corridor and along to where a staircase lead up to the roof "Anyone got any outstanding business?" The others shook their heads "Okay then" She lead them up to the roof where three dragons and a winged horse were waiting.

Luna turned back, and pushed the trapdoor closed. She then slammed the four bolts home, putting a padlock in the middle and locking it up.

"So - back to The Fort?" She asked. 

Five minutes later, three dragons and a winged horse were flying up into the cloud filled sky.


	3. Back To School

"NEVILLE!" Hermione smiled as she saw Neville and his Gran coming in to Diagon Alley through the portal by The Leaky Cauldron. He turned at the sound of her voice, then gave her a wide smile.

"Neville? Would you care to introduce me to your friend?" Augusta Longbottom gave him a fond smile.

"Oh - sorry" Neville blushed as Hermione walked up to them, her parents coming up behind her "Gran - this is Hermione Jane Granger and her parents....."

"Jessica and Owen" Hermione's mother smiled, then blinked in surprise when there was no response.

"Magical world, mother" Hermione said with a laugh "I'm not sure they've ever heard of The Olympics let alone Jessie Owens" She turned back to Neville and his Gran "I'll explain later"

"Very well" Augusta nodded "I am Augusta Longbottom and you apparently already know my grandson Neville" She looked at Hermione "I understand you are the young woman who got my Neville interested in history? And who is responsible for him ending up in Ravenclaw?" 

"GRAN!" Neville hissed, but Augusta ignored him, continuing to stare at Hermione.

"Madame Longbottom - I'm sorry if I messed up your plans for Neville, and it wasn't my intention to upset you, or make you upset with him....."

"My dear girl, what makes you think I am upset?" Augusta smiled fondly at her "Neville has spent this whole summer talking about his last year and about his friends. I have never seen him this happy, my girl, and a lot of that is down to your influence" Jessica smiled as both her daughter and Neville went bright red.

"Thank you" Hermione stammered a little, then looked at Neville "Have you seen anyone else?"

xoxox

"I'm sorry I couldn't take you to Diagon Alley today" Luna's Uncle put her lunch down in front of her "But I have a meeting this afternoon, and I am not certain we would have got back in time"

"Don't worry about it" Luna smiled "You'll pick up my stuff tomorrow? School starts in two days"

"I remember" Albert smiled fondly at her "And yes - I will pick your stuff up tomorrow. You'll be alright here? Alone?"

"Yes, Uncle" Luna rolled her eyes "I realise that in the past few years Privet Drive has become a hotbed for Dark Wizards and murderers, but I am sure I can get through a few hours without you here" 

"Have you always been this cheeky, young lady? You are not too old to put across my knee you know" He pretended to frown at her, then smiled "Do you have your letter? It's been a while since I went to Hogwarts, and I'm sure the required reading list has changed somewhat"

"I'll get it after lunch" Luna picked up a sandwich and took a bite "How long will you be out this afternoon?" 

"Two, three hours, tops" Albert smiled "What are you going to do?" 

xoxox

"Maybe have a nap" Harry looked up at Aunt Petunia "I know you like me working in the garden, and I am happy I can do my bit, but it is a little exhausting"

"I understand" Petunia smiled "And I am very impressed with what you did with the roses"

"My pleasure" Harry smiled back "You and Uncle Vernon will be out for a few hours?"

"Probably three or four" She nodded, then gave him a fake frown "Why? Planning on selling the place before we get back?"

"Well - not now that you've caught me!" Harry folded his arms grumpily.

xoxox

"Do you have your book list for this year, love?" Owen asked his daughter, then pointed down The Alley towards Flourish And Blotts where a large queue was snaking out of the building and down towards Gringotts.

"What....." Hermione started, but stopped as three more people came up behind them.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is what's going on" Hermione smiled as Sally-Anne walked up beside her "Apparently he is signing copies of his books and he has quite a lot of fans"

"Gilderoy Lockhart?" Hermione asked "The same one who wrote all of our Defence books?"

"The very same one" Sally-Anne said with a sigh, making Hermione turn and look at her.

"You're not a fan?" She asked, eyebrows raised.

"You know how some people are all flash and no substance?" Sally-Anne said, still staring at the long queue of people "Well Lockhart is their king" She turned to Hermione "He has more awards for brave and heroic deeds than you can shake a stick at...."

"Why would you want to shake a stick at some awards?" Neville asked as he and Augusta arrived to join them.

"It's a figure of speech" Hermione waved her hand dismissively "Sally?"

"The stories he tells about these incidents - the ones he won the awards for - are all true, but seem....."

"Wrong" Augusta said, and Sally-Anne nodded.

"They all seem too perfect and too rehearsed" She continued "The award committees and so forth have looked into them - and they all happened the way the stories are told, but still.... there's something up" She stared at the queue, then shrugged "That's a big queue"

"I was going to offer to pick up Hermione's books" Owen said "But if you want, I can pick them all up - that way you can get the rest of the shopping done without having to wait all day just to get some books"

"Thank you, Mr Granger" Augusta said.

"Actually - it's Doctor Granger" Owen smiled "But really, it's Owen"

"Owen" Augusta nodded, then pulled out a bag from her robes "This should cover the books" She said, handing it to him. Sally-Anne handed over a similar bag.

"Thank you" Owen smiled, then looked at Hermione "I'll meet you in Fortescue's?"

"You're letting me have ice-cream?" Hermione asked in surprise "Sugary, bad for me ice-cream? 

"Do you want to meet me there or not?" Owen grinned at her.

"I'll be there" Hermione grinned back "But now - oh gods - now we have to brave the apothecary" 

"Have fun" Owen grinned.

"Oh - Doctor Granger" Sally-Anne pulled a small, folded bag out of the bag she was carrying "You should probably take this - it will make carrying twenty one books a great deal easier" Owen took the bag, peering at it in surprise.

"It's tiny" He said.

"It's magic" Hermione replied "Just trust us, dad - you'll love it"

"Okay" Owen shrugged, then, after giving Hermione a kiss on the cheek, he turned and walked down The Alley and joined the back of the queue. 

xoxox

Harry flew Hugsalot across The Dreamland, heading towards The Fort. He knew that Hermione, Neville and Sally-Anne were in Diagon Alley, but he was fairly confident that Dumbledore was never going to allow Luna to go to back to school day - even with "Uncle Albert" watching over her, letting her loose with all those other students with almost no supervision was not something The Headmaster would even consider. 

It was much the same reason he hadn't been allowed to go to Diagon Alley either, although it was much easier to explain in his case - Vernon and Petunia would never offer to take him to Diagon Alley, even if they did know it existed. Of course, he knew that tomorrow one of the professors would turn up and offer to take him out to Diagon Alley so he could pick up his stuff. 

Admittedly he only knew that because Luna had told him that was going to happen, but still - it was nice to know he wasn't going to be stuck without supplies for the year, and that Dumbledore wasn't going to be accessing his accounts without him being there - at least for now.

Looking up, he saw the spires of The Fort come into view, and - with a quick smile - he saw one of the four flags was raised and fluttering in the non-existent breeze.

"Looks like she was right" Harry said to himself, then shook his head "What were the odds?"

xoxox

Owen sighed as the queue moved forward again, and he moved forward with it. He looked up at the front of the shop and got his first sight of the great Gilderoy Lockhart. His first thought was that a circus clown had decided to take up teaching - what kind of teacher wore clothes like that?

He shook his head and took another few steps forward, then there was a ripple of excitement through the shop that made him look up. The circus clown had got to his feet, walked around to the front of the table, and was looking out into the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming" He said, giving what Owen assumed was meant to be a charming smile "I will carry on signing all your books in a moment, however I didn't just come here so you could meet your hero - no, I have another, far more important reason for being here today" Another charming smile followed, making Owen roll his eyes.

"As you know, for the past few years I have been working with The Dark Force Defence League and The Ministry, making sure that the last remnants of The Dark Lord's Army can not return, and that the citizens of this fair country can remain safe and free from the threats of dark creatures and monsters that go bump in the night" He struck a heroic pose - one that made Owen want to laugh.

"However - it would appear that fate has a bigger, more important destiny for me" Lockhart continued "In two days time, I will take up a bigger challenge and a bigger responsibility as I become the new Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Following a huge indrawing of breath, the entire shop burst into applause as Lockhart took a number of bows.

"I can assure you that - from the first of September - your children, and their future, will be in safe hands" 

xoxox

"Your aunt and uncle didn't want to take you to Diagon Alley?" Luna asked in an amused voice as Harry walked into the main operations room of The Fort.

"You do realise that pretending to be surprised at anything is a bit of a waste of time, right?" Harry grinned as he walked up to the table next to her "You can literally bend the future to your will, so surprise is not really your forte" 

"I know" Luna sighed "But as much as it might annoy you, look at it form my point of view" She turned to face him "Do you know what it's like never to be surprised with a birthday present, to know that you friends are never going to be able to throw you a surprise party?" She leaned down, resting her head on her hands.

"I will make that my life's mission then" Harry mirrored her posture "To surprise you at least once in my life" Luna laughed "So - what have you found out? Where are we going next?"

"Now that we've fully established Nargathrond as our Underland base of operations, I think we can use it to explore the caves along the side of the western ridges" Luna pointed to a crudely drawn map that covered the whole table.

"You don't want to explore the tunnels?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Not just now, no" Luna shook her head "I know it means that all sorts of dark creatures and monsters that go bump in the night could be down there, but the doors and locks are more or less secure - no one will be getting through them" She paused "There's also another reason, but if it's okay, I'm going to keep that to myself for now" Harry smiled.

"So the caves along the western ridges?" He said "What do you think we're going to find there?"

xoxox

"LOCKHART?" Sally-Anne stared at Hermione's father as the group sat in Fortescue's, eating ice-cream.

"He could have been making it up" Owen said, taking another mouthful of triple chocolate fudge. 

"LOCKHART?" Sally-Anne exclaimed again, then looked at Hermione "Gilderoy Lockhart is going to be our new Defence teacher?"

"At least that explains the book thing" Hermione shrugged "And since our last Defence teacher tried to murder the Headmaster, I am not sure Lockhart will be any worse"

"Professor Quirrell tried to kill Professor Dumbledore?" Jessica asked in surprise. 

"Oops" Hermione said sheepishly "It's kind of a long story - can I tell you it when we get home?"

"I think you can count on it" Jessica said frowning slightly "You still want to go back to the school?"

"Another long story" Hermione admitted, then she looked round as Neville and Augusta came in. 

"Well that was fun" Neville flopped down next to Hermione "I know I love Herbology, and that I am actually pretty good at it, but the queue at Frame of Thorns really made me want to reconsider ever looking at another plant again, let alone working with them" He let out a long sigh, then looked at Hermione's bowl of cinnamon waffles "Nice?"

"Nicest" Hermione replied.

"Sold" Neville looked at his grandmother "Gran? Do you want anything?"

"Just a cup of tea, please" Augusta said with a nod.

"Okay" Neville got to his feet and walked over to the counter. Augusta looked at the other two students.

"From the expressions on your faces, I take it you have heard the news that is currently circulating through The Alley?" She asked in a slightly amused voice.

"That the halls of Hogwarts are to be graced with the presence of a five times winner of Witch Weekly's most charming smile?" Sally-Anne said dryly "We have been made aware"

"Did you know anything about this, Madame Longbottom?" Hermione asked "Neville mentioned that you had served on The Board for a few years"

"That was five years ago, my dear" Augusta sighed "I still keep in touch with what is going on, however this - I have to confess - is more than a little surprising"

"How are teachers appointed?" Sally-Anne asked.

"The Headmaster makes the appointments" Augusta explained "However The Board can override the decision if they feel it necessary - thirteen years ago we reversed Professor Dumbledore's decision to hire someone for the Arithmancy position. We felt that the young lady in question was not suitably qualified for the position, and that Dumbledore's hiring of her had more to do with patronage and ulterior motives than getting the right person for the job" 

"And The Board won't override Lockhart's hiring?" Neville asked as he handed his gran her tea. He sat down next to Hermione, placing his bowl in front of him.

"Thirteen years ago the war against Voldemort was stronger than ever, and while the level of respect that Albus garnered was high, he had not yet achieved the status he has now - all knowing, all wise and infallible" Augusta took a sip of tea "As a result, The Board was willing to stand up to him - especially over hiring Miss Gray" 

"And now?" Jessica asked.

"Since Voldemort's fall, Albus' star has risen higher and higher. And while there are members of The Board who dislike him, they are never going to stand up to him unless they can get a lot more to back up such a move" Augusta let a wry smile cross her lips "In regard to the redoubtable Mr Lockhart, he has all the credentials you could possibly want in a Defence teacher - there are very few living Order of Merlin recipients, and the fact that Albus has convinced one to teach at Hogwarts is quite a coup" She shook her head "He is considered a national treasure, and The Board are not going to use what small capitol they have to oppose his hiring"

"Wonderful" Sally-Anne leaned back in her chair "Well - I suppose it could be worse" She paused "Not sure how, but I am sure it could be"

"The difference between an optimist and a pessimist" Hermione said with a grin "The pessimist says 'Things can't get any worse' and the optimist says...."

"'Of course they can'" Augusta finished her sentence, making everyone laugh.

"Where's Harry?" Owen asked.

"His family aren't magical" Hermione replied "I think one of the teachers is going to collect him tomorrow to pick up his supplies for the next year"

"Albus didn't want him mixing with the rest of the magical world?" Augusta raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"I think it was more of a case that The Headmaster had no staff free today" Sally-Anne said.

xoxox

"I think he doesn't want either of us mixing with the magical world unobserved" Luna said as she and Harry walked towards the front entrance of The Fort.

"So what is he going to do on the first?" Harry frowned as they walked out into The Dreamland sunshine.

"My guess is that Dumbledore is going to have one or two staff on the train" Luna said "After Quirrell's attack at the end of last year, he can pass it off as making sure the students are safe" 

"But he can't keep watch on us all the time" Harry persisted "Even setting aside this....." He waved his hand around, indicating where they were ".... he can't monitor us every minute at school, can he?"

"The House-Elves are very loyal to him, and the portraits are simply an extension of the school and the wards" Luna put her fingers in her mouth and let out a whistle "But when I go into Ravenclaw, I am going to make friends with Neville and Sally-Anne, and by extension with you and Hermione. It'll be nigh on impossible for him to stop that"

"So we can finally talk to each other in person? I can hug you and actually be hugging you, instead of a dream version of you?" Harry asked. 

"You don't like Dream-Me?" Luna pouted at him as two shadows passed across them. 

"You can't tell me you aren't thinking the same thing" Harry shot back, making her smile.

"True" She admitted, then looked up as Nirnaeth and Hugsalot flew down to land in front of them.

"So - two days" Harry looked her up and down "Should I be expecting surprises?" 

"Huh?" 

"It's just occurred to me that we've never met in real life" Harry said.

"That just occurred to you?" Luna asked in a slightly mocking tone.

"Ha ha" Harry smirked "I just meant that when I was younger, I used to dream that I didn't have glasses, that I didn't have this stupid scar, that I had blonde hair...." He trailed off "I was just wondering if...."

"You don't know if this is the real me?" Luna looked at him thoughtfully "Is this the real you?" 

"Yes" Harry nodded "At least - as far as I can tell. I mean - I haven't made myself taller or more muscley, but my hair might be darker or brighter in the real world" He shrugged "You?"

"No changes that I can think of" Luna gave him a twirl, smiling at his reaction "Besides - who would want to mess with perfection?" As she climbed onto the back of Nirnaeth, Harry burst out laughing.

xoxox

"Thank you, Professor Sprout" Harry smiled as he and his head of house walked along Privet Drive, heading towards his Aunt's house.

"It is my pleasure, Mr Potter" Pomona smiled back at him "I am just sorry I wasn't available yesterday - Back To School day is definitely something to behold" 

"Maybe next year" Harry replied with a casual shrug "As long as I have my supplies for the year, that's all that matters" They reached the end of the driveway of Number 4, and stopped.

"I think I can take it from here, Professor" He said quietly.

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to make sure you got to and from Diagon Alley safely" Pomona replied.

"Then you can watch me until I enter the house" Harry replied, then, lowering his voice to almost a whisper, he continued "Please, Professor - my Aunt and Uncle....." 

"I understand, Mr Potter" She gave a single nod "But, if you don't mind, I will wait until you get inside before I leave" 

"Thank you" Harry smiled, then took the bags she was carrying and walked down the path. 

As he reached the door, he turned and raised his hand to give Professor Sprout a wave. But he suddenly looked upward, and saw a figure framed in a first floor window of the house over the road. A figure with dirty-blonde hair, wide, expressive eyes and a faintly knowing smile. The girl stood there for a moment, then vanished as she turned away.

"Mr Potter?" Pomona looked at him curiously.

"Sorry, Professor" He shook his head "I thought I saw something" He smiled "Thank you for today, Professor, and I will see you tomorrow"

"Enjoy your last evening of freedom, Mr Potter" She gave him a wicked grin "Tomorrow you return to the salt-mines"

"I can't wait" Harry grinned, then turned and walked inside.

xoxox

"HARRY!" Hermione bounded over to Harry as he walked through the barrier at Platform 9 3/4 "You made it!"

"Apparently so" Harry let her hug him for a few more moments, then he faked a few choking noises "Breathing.... becoming.... an issue...." He laughed as Hermione straightened up and slapped him on the arm.

"Prat" She giggled "You got all your stuff?"

"Professor Sprout very kindly took me around Diagon Alley yesterday" Harry nodded, gesturing at his trunk, which had - from what Hermione saw - gained wheels on the rear end.

"A new trunk?" She asked.

"Since I indicated that Vernon and Petunia weren't going to help me with all this, Professor Sprout suggested I could use a trunk that was easier to move" Harry smiled "And she's right" He wheeled the trunk around a little, pushing it round in circles "It is a great deal easier"

"Maybe I'll talk to my parents next year - an early birthday present or something" Hermione grinned "Neville and Sally-Anne are just down the platform with her parents and Madame Longbottom. We were going to sit together, if that's okay?"

"Sounds fun" Harry grinned.

"Who's that?" Hermione asked, surprising Harry. He looked over his shoulder to see a young girl making her way through the barrier. 

"I don't know" He said, trying to contain the smile that was threatening to explode on to his face. 

"New first year?" Neville suggested, walking up beside Hermione. She looked at him, giving him a brief smile.

"What happened to your grandmother?" She asked.

"Gran had to go - meeting at Gringotts" Neville replied "Sally's parents are gone too - just us now"

"You want to go into a carriage?" Hermione asked.

"We probably should" Neville nodded "The train is filing up fast, and we don't want to end up stuck with the Gryffindors"

"What's wrong with Gryffindors?" All four turned as Fred and George walked up to them, floating their trucks behind them.

"Oh if only we had the time" Hermione grinned cheekily at the twins, who both grinned back "But the school year ends in June so we'll have to get back to you" The twins looked at each other, then gave her a polite bow.

"We know when we are beaten, fair lady" George said, pretending to doff an imaginary cap.

"But consider this but the start of our contest" Fred added. 

"And in the end, we will have our victory" They finished in unison. 

"A victory over four second years?" Sally-Anne quirked an eyebrow "Surely songs will be written of such a triumph" Fred and George exchanged glances again.

"I think we'll give up while we're ahead" Fred said, then he and George moved off down the platform. Sally-Anne grinned and did a little dance, then she picked up one end of her trunk.

"Time to get on the train" She said. Neville and Hermione picked up their trunks as well, but Harry paused.

"Guys - I think I am going to go and see if the new girl needs any help" He said. Hermione gazed at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Want me to take your trunk?" She asked.

"Please" Harry nodded "Means I'll be able to help her with hers if she needs it" 

"Ever the white knight" Hermione gave him a fond smile, then put her trunk on top of his, then gave them a little push towards the train.

"Save us a seat?" 

"One seat? For the two of you?" Sally-Anne asked "You really think you'll make friends that quickly?" Harry stared at her for a moment, then laughed.

"I'll catch you up" He said, then turned and walked down the platform to where the young girl with dirty blonde hair and expressive eyes was waiting.

xoxox

"As some of you may be aware, we are welcoming back a young woman that we thought we had lost" Dumbledore looked around the assembled staff "Following the death of her mother, and the arrest of her father, I arranged for Luna Lovegood to go in to protective custody to ensure that she would be safe" He paused "And while that meant letting the rest of the magical world think she was dead - including all of you here - I truly believe that it was for the best" 

"Was she really in that much danger, Albus?" McGonagall asked.

"After the revelation that her father was a Death Eater - potentially one of Lord Voldemort's inner circle - I wanted to make sure that none of the other Death Eaters that escaped the arrests at the end of the war would try to capture her or use her in some way" He paused "I truly apologise for any feelings of betrayal that this may have caused and I hope that you will not hold the feelings against me" There were a number of nods and murmurs of assent.

"However, my main reason for bringing this up is that - much like Mr Potter's return to the magical world last year, I suspect that Miss Lovegood's return will provoke some interest and speculation and comment amongst our students - especially the older ones" He paused "I would like all of you - regardless of what House she might end up in - to keep an eye on her over her first few months at school. Make sure she isn't being bothered, or being given a hard time by anyone"

"Of course, Albus" McGonagall nodded.

"I expect the fuss and interest to die down soon enough, but I would like her re-entry into our world to be as easy and as painless as possible" Dumbledore continued, then looked at Flitwick "Based on her mother's time at school, I would expect her to be sorted into your House, Filius, so I suspect you will have the biggest part to play in all this"

"Yes, Albus" Flitwick nodded "Do you want me to inform the prefects? While I do interact with my students, the prefects have a closer contact"

"I will leave that up to your discretion, Filius" Albus smiled, then looked down at the parchment in front of him "The next point I'd like to discuss is....."

xoxox

"Hi" Harry walked up to the young girl who was looking around "Can I help you?" The girl turned and looked at him, then smiled.

"Could you?" She asked "My uncle was supposed to come with me, but something came up and he had to go"

"First year?" Harry asked kindly, and she smiled.

"Yeah"

"Then you've come to the right place" He glanced at the trunk "Would you like a hand with that....."

"Luna" She said with a smile "Luna Lovegood"

"Then Luna, Luna Lovegood, lets go" He picked up one side of the trunk, and they set off down the platform "You can sit with me and my friends if you want..... I mean, if you don't have plans already"

"I don't" Luna blushed "I've been living on my own with my Uncle for the last few years....." She trailed off, biting her lip.

"It's complicated?" He asked sympathetically, and she nodded "You may not believe me, but I can entirely sympathise" He smiled at her slightly sceptical look "I'm Harry Potter"

"THE Harry Potter?" Luna stared at him with wide eyes "The Boy Who Lived?"

"That's me" He grinned "Still want to sit with us?" 

"If you don't mind" She said, sounding hesitant again.

"I'll introduce you to my friends" He said.

xoxox

"Luna - Hermione Jane Granger, Neville Longbottomm and Sally-Anne Perks" Harry and Neville had lifted her trunk up to the luggage rack, then Luna had sat down between him and Hermione "Hermione, Neville, Sally-Anne - may I introduce Luna Lovegood"

"Luna.... Luna Lovegood?" Neville's eyes widened "The one who....." He stopped, blushing and bit his lip "Sorry - I probably shouldn't discuss that"

"You won't be the only one" Luna gave him a sad smile, then looked at the others "What Neville was going to say is that I am somewhat...... famous in the magical world"

"Join the club" Harry and Neville said in unison, which made Luna laugh. 

"My mother died when I was young" Luna said quietly "Then - a few years ago - my father was arrested for being one of Voldemort's inner circle and I was sent to live with my Uncle" She paused "It was arranged by a man named Albus Dumbledore who - because he was worried that the rest of the Death Eaters would try to find me - decided that it would be better for the rest of the world to think I was dead"

"My Gran told me about it" Neville said "It sent a few shocks through the magical world - the idea that one of Voldemort's Death Eaters was still active was unsettling" He paused, then gave Luna a sheepish smile "Probably more so for you than most"

"I didn't learn about that part until recently" Luna said quietly, staring at her fingers "I thought he'd been killed in an accident, like my mother" She closed her eyes "It wasn't until Mr Dumbledore came to see me at the beginning of August that I found out the truth"

"Oh my" Sally-Anne said quietly.

"I am glad I am coming to school, but I'm worried about what people will think of me" Luna admitted. A moment later, she felt Harry's arm slip around her waist.

"My parents died fighting Voldemort" He said quietly "And all people remember is that I vanquished him"

"Two days after that, four Death Eaters came to my house and tortured my parents until they had no choice but to retreat into themselves" Neville added "They are praised for being brave and heroic - for not giving into Bellatrix and the others - while I live with my Gran and am never going to talk to them again" The carriage fell silent for a few minutes.

"I once stood on a rake in my garden and banged my nose" Hermione offered. The others turned to look at her and she grinned "It hurt like buggery" 

"That really does put our problems in perspective" Luna admitted.

"Just here to help" Hermione grinned at her, making her laugh "But - to be serious, if only for a moment, we look after our friends. If you have any problems, or you just want to talk to someone, we'll be here"

"In this compartment?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow "Because I think the train goes back to London after it drops us off" Hermione gazed at her with an amused smile, then looked at Harry.

"I think I'm going to like this one" She said "Can we keep her?" 

xoxox

A few hours later, Sally-Anne and Luna were engaged in a game of chess, while Neville and Hermione were having a friendly debate about something they had found in Hogwarts:A History. Harry had a book open on his lap, but was spending more time watching his four friends than reading the book.

Luna picked up a pawn, then - in a move that only Harry noticed - she froze for a split second, before putting it down two squares in front. Glancing over her shoulder, she gave Harry an apologetic look, then turned back to the game.

Less than a minute later, he looked up as the door to the compartment slid back, and he found himself looking at Ronald Weasley and a younger girl with the same shade of red hair.

"Harry" Ron gave him an ingratiating smile "Did you have a nice summer?"

"Nice enough" Harry shrugged "You?"

"It was okay" Ron paused, then shrugged "This is my sister Ginny - she's starting here this year" The girl looked at Harry - her face almost as red as her hair - and he smiled.

"Hello Ginny" Hermione said "Looking forward to your first year?" 

"Yes" Ginny squeaked, then - with a final glance at Harry - she turned and bolted down the corridor. Hermione blinked in surprise, then looked at Ron.

"She's shy" Ron said "Anyway - I just thought I'd introduce her" He paused "See you" He turned and walked down the corridor. Hermione stared at the empty door for a moment, then looked round at her friends.

"That was odd, right?"

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Good" Hermione nodded "Just making sure"

xoxox

Harry looked out of the window, then turned back to the compartment.

"We're here" He said "Luna? Do you want a hand with your trunk?"

"Yes please" She stood up, stretching "Do I have to carry it all the way up to school?"

"No" Hermione shook her head "Last year, we left them at the end of the platform and The House Elves moved them up to Hogwarts - I found mine in my dorm when I went to bed"

"But I don't know what House I'm going to be in" Luna said with a frown.

"I think the first year trunks get put in holding until The Sorting" Sally-Anne interjected "It's the first thing that happens, so The Elves will know pretty soon"

"Oh - I suppose that makes sense" Luna smiled "You are in different Houses, yes? Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff?"

"Yes" Harry nodded "But I promise - we promise - even if you end up in the most evil and reprehensible House of all, we'll still be friends with you" Luna grinned.

"And what if I don't end up in Hufflepuff?" She asked. Hermione and Harry both glared at her, while Neville and Sally-Anne burst into hysterics.

xoxox

Dumbledore watched as the returning students filed into The Great Hall. Harry and the muggle-born girl were together - almost, but not quite - walking hand in hand, while The Longbottom heir and the Perks girl were walking side by side - clearly just friends. 

Pomona had said the trip to Diagon Alley had gone well - Harry had been friendly without asking too many questions - and that he had returned to Privet Drive without too much fuss.

Albert had also informed him Luna had accepted the story about not being able to go to get her school stuff without too much fuss. 

All in all, the term was starting as well as he could expect. Even to the point that Harry seemed to have made friends with Luna on the platform. And while he hadn't been able to get any observers on The Express itself, the fact all five of the group had got off The Express together was also a good indication that his plan to unite The First Born and The Moon appeared to be going as he required.

The doors to The Great Hall opened again, and the new first year students walked in. His eyes were immediately drawn to Luna - she seemed to be more at east than he had hoped, but if she had spent the whole journey on The Express with Harry and his friends, that would explain it.

McGonagall walked over from the side, carrying her customary role of parchment, then looked at the hat.

__

  
On September first it happens - there are students I must sort  
(I’ve got a little list, I’ve got a little list)  
A task I do so very fast - almost at the speed of thought  
(And none of them is missed - not one of them is missed)  
You could be a Slytherin with cunning in your heart  
Or join Rowena Ravenclaw - she takes those who are smart  
Hufflepuffs are loyal and kind, to their own selves they are true  
Or is courageous Gryffindor a better fit for you?  
But whatever House you go to, on one thing I do insist :-  
Not a student on my list shall see their name is missed.

There were a few moments of silence, then McGonagall looked down at the roll of parchment.

"ARIA BELL" 

xoxox

Harry watched as the sorting progressed, his eyes flicking between whichever student was sat on the stool, and the back of The Hall where Luna was stood. She was watching the entire process with a slightly serene smile on her face. She occasionally looked over at him, but her expression didn't change.

"LUNA LOVEGOOD" McGonagall's voice echoed through The Hall. Harry watched as Luna walked down the central aisle of The Hall and took her place on the three legged stool.

xoxox

**Miss Lovegood - welcome to Hogwarts.**

_Thank you, Catania_ Luna replied in her head, then she got the distinct impression that The Sorting Hat was raising its eyebrows.

**I have been sorting students for centuries, Miss Lovegood, and not once has any of them addressed me by name.**

_From what Harry says, I would imagine the fact I know the name The Founders gave you would be the least surprising thing._

**From what I saw in young Mr Potter's head, I thought your speciality was the future, not the distant past.**

_Mr Potter is not wrong, however if you give it some thought, Catania, you will work out how I did it._

**A fascinating challenge, Miss Lovegood** The Hat paused **However it will be a challenge I take up later, because right now we have something else to do.**

_No, we don't._

**We don't?** Luna had to bite her lip to prevent her from laughing at the surprised expression in The Hat's voice.

_I am going in to Ravenclaw._

**You are, are you?** The Hat asked in a slightly sarcastic voice.

_You've seen enough in Harry's head, Cat, and in my head, to know what I can do. Do you really doubt that I do not know what my own future entails?_ The Hat remained silent for a minute or so, then she got the impression that it was shrugging its shoulders.

**Who am I to argue with The Harbinger Of Fate?** The Hat said in a resigned tone **I guess it has to be RAVENCLAW!**

The final word echoed round The Great Hall, and a moment later Neville and Sally-Anne burst into applause, along with the rest of The Ravenclaw table. Luna removed The Hat, placed it gently back on the stool and walked over to the space Neville had kept for her, next to him.

As she at down, she looked over to find both Hermione and Harry smiling back at her. 

xoxox

"GINEVRA WEASLEY" Ginny - stood alone at the back of The Hall - walked up to the stool and sat down.

**Miss Weasley..... no.**

_No?_

**I put your brother into Hufflepuff because he asked me to, and it turned out to be a big mistake.** The Hat said in a lecturing tone **I went against my better judgement because he asked me to, and less than two months later he changed his mind.**

_I am not going to change my mind._ Ginny thought emphatically.

**You are not a Hufflepuff, Miss Weasley - the cunning you are displaying would find you a place in Slytherin, but you have neither the loyalty nor the brains to be in either of the other two houses.** The Hat snapped at her, then there was a moment's silence **You have a choice as to your destination, Miss Weasley - but it will either be Gryffindor or Slytherin. You either pick one of those Houses or you go home. And make your choice quickly, otherwise I will make it for you.**

xoxox

Harry and Hermione both stared at the front of The Hall, along with the rest of the student body, as Ginny Weasley's sorting stretched into its fourth minute.

"Did mine take this long?" Harry whispered.

"You were done in two minutes" Hermione replied.

"You too" Harry continued to watch as the sorting continued. 

"Ron took a while......" Hermione started, then she blinked "You don't think....."

"That Ginny wants to come here too?" Harry asked, then shrugged "Maybe"

**GRYFFINDOR!** A number of students jumped as The Sorting Hat bellowed out Ginny's new House. Then everyone watched as she walked across to the Gryffindor table - a table that was sat in the same stunned silence as the rest of The Hall.

Dumbledore waited until Ginny sat down, then she stood up.

"To all our new students - welcome to Hogwarts. To all our returning students - welcome back"

xoxox

Harry blinked and found himself stood in the courtyard of Castle Dreadnought. Walking out of the main gate, he stopped in surprise as he saw two people sat on the edge of the dock he had created the year before.

"You took your time" Hermione said, pushing herself up and getting to her feet. She dusted the back of her skirt off "Neville and I have been here for half an hour"

"Had trouble falling asleep" He admitted, then looked at Neville "So we all wake up in the same place?" He looked around "Any sight of....."

"Luna?" Hermione smiled, looking at someone beyond him. Harry turned, and smiled as he saw Luna walking towards them round the edge of the castle walls.

"Harry, Neville, Hermione" She gave a polite nod "So - looks like our plan worked"


	4. The Writing On The Wall

Harry, Hermione and Neville stared at the cinema screen in Gondonlin's largest drawing room, then - as one - turned to stare at Luna.

"Sally expressed her doubts" Neville said after a few moments "I guess she was right"

"He really is a fraud?" Hermione asked.

"Not necessarily" Luna said charitably "It's possible that he could just be overwhelmed - this being his first lesson and all" 

"Are you just saying that, or is that just something you want us to believe?" Harry asked. Luna bit her lip, then sighed.

"You know how I warned you last year that sometime during this year all my visions would stop?" She said, glancing at Hermione and Neville before looking back at Harry.

"You said there'd be a period where you'd become unavailable" Harry replied "Is that still true?"

"Up until the start of term, I would have put it at fifty-fifty" Luna nodded "But the moment the boats crossed the ward boundaries, it became almost a certainty"

"So it was one of the other first years?" Neville frowned "One of them is going to.... cause whatever happens to you?"

"Maybe" Luna shrugged "Or someone else came into the school around the same time" She glanced at Hermione "The carriages?"

"The journey's a little shorter" Hermione said thoughtfully "But only a little shorter. I'd guess the latter half would hit the wards around the same time as the boats" 

"So it could be pretty much anyone?" Harry rolled his eyes "That narrows it down"

"Whatever is going to cause it, I am pretty sure that around the start of March something will happen that will take away my visions" She paused "I don't know what it will be, or how long it will last, but something will happen" 

"Can we stop it?" Harry asked, taking her hand.

"You'd think a seer who can manipulate the future would be able to save herself....." Luna trailed off, then shrugged "Maybe something will change between now and then, but until we get there, you need to be ready for tomorrow" She gestured back at the screen "You know what you have to do?"

"Yes" Hermione nodded "If we get this wrong, what's the worst that could happen?"

"The pixies will rip apart the very foundations of the school, killing everyone here" Luna said in a deadpan tone. Hermione gazed at her, then rolled her eyes.

"Serves me right for asking, I suppose" She grinned.

xoxox

"I must ask you not to scream....." Lockhart paused dramatically "It might.... provoke them" He lowered his voice "Are you prepared to face....." He turned and whipped the cover off the cage on his desk "CORNISH PIXIES!" 

Harry, Hermione, Neville and Sally-Anne all smirked, then they each drew their wands under the desk.

"Pixies?" Seamus Finnigan snorted in amusement.

"Careful Mr Finnigan" Lockhart cautioned "They can be devious, dangerous and destructive - underestimate them at your peril" He paused, then - with a dramatic flourish - he flipped the lock up and pulled the cage door open.

There was a split-second of silence, then the pixies swarmed out of the cage and started tearing up the room.

"On zero?" Harry asked, and the others nodded "Three. Two. One. ZERO!" All four of them bounded to their feet, one facing in each direction.

"IMMOBILIARIS!" They yelled in unison, freezing every pixie at once. Lockhart stared at them in surprise.

"Congratulations" He said after a moment of silence "You picked exactly the right spell, of course, although your execution does require a little more polishing" He smiled winningly at them "But well done - I see great potential in all of you" He looked at Harry "Then again - perhaps I should not be surprised, given the prescience of someone almost as famous as me"

"Actually it was Hermione and Neville who came up with the spell and the plan to carry it out" Harry replied calmly "I was just here to make up the numbers" Lockhart gazed at him, then smiled again.

"Modest too" He said, smiling again "Don't worry, Mr Potter, you will soon learn to deal with the admiration of others" He paused "Now - do you know how to get the pixies back into the cage, or shall I show you how?" Hermione looked at him with a slightly awed expression.

"I am sure you could do it better than we ever could, Professor" Harry blinked in surprise - was Hermione simpering? 

"Of course - but how will you and the other students ever learn if I do everything for you?" Lockhart smiled at Hermione.

"I hadn't thought of that" Hermione admitted, sounding slightly abashed. She pointed her wand at one of the pixies "Relocator dixella" A thin bolt of blue light flew out of her wand and when it struck the pixie the unfortunate creature shot like a cannonball back into the cage, smacking against the bars at the back. Turning back to Hermione, she gave him a bright smile "Was that good, Professor?"

xoxox

"Have you considered a career in acting, Miss Granger?" Sally-Anne asked the four students walked towards The Great Hall for lunch.

"Why?" Hermione asked, fluttering her eyebrows "Do you think I'm good?" 

"I am sure you could do it better than we ever could, Professor" Sally-Anne clasped her hands together in an exaggerated performance of Hermione's earlier comment. The others all laughed "Do you think he bought it?"

"Anyone with an ounce of common sense would have realised we were playing to the camera" Harry said "So yes - I think he bought it" Neville and Hermione laughed, while Sally-Anne grinned.

"Hopefully we can keep him occupied - or at least off balance - so he won't pay undue attention to anyone else" Hermione continued "And now that he knows we have some skills, anything we learn...." She paused "Anything we learn between us won't seem so surprising" Sally-Anne gave her a curious look, then shrugged.

"Are we having lunch with Luna?" She asked.

"You don't like Luna?" Harry looked at her in surprise.

"Oh - no" Sally-Anne shook her head "Luna's a sweetie" She paused "I'm just curious as to how you became friends so quickly" Harry smiled.

"She's come to Hogwarts after years of living on her own" He said softly "And everyone here - everyone - knows her story" He looked around "You must have seen how people stop talking when she comes into a room - how they whisper, and point, and talk"

"Like someone else we know?" Sally-Anne smiled.

"I thought having someone who could sympathise with what she's going through might help" He said simply.

"I guess" She nodded, then looked round at The Great Hall "So - we're going in?"

xoxox

"Miss Lovegood" Luna looked up at the sound of Dumbledore's voice.

"Professor" She smiled politely "How are you enjoying term so far?"

"I was going to ask you the same question, Miss Lovegood" Dumbledore eased himself down in to the seat next to her "I wanted to see how you are adjusting to life at Hogwarts? I understand you've made a few friends?"

"It has been a bit of a shock" Luna admitted "After it being just me and my Uncle for the past few years, being around all these people is a little unsettling" She paused "But Neville and Sally-Anne are helping" 

"Mr Longbottom and Miss Perks?" Dumbledore smiled "They have helped you settle in?"

"They are in my house" She said "And their friends...." She trailed off, screwing up her face in concentration "Harmony and Harry?" She paused "They have been friendly as well - helped me get used to smaller groups before I try bigger ones"

"I am glad you are making friends" Dumbledore said with a friendly smile "Although I believe Miss Granger's name is Hermione, rather than Harmony"

"Hermione" Luna nodded "Daughter of Helen and Meneleus, supposed to marry Pyrrhus but ended up marrying Orestes"

"And for whom we get the phrase Pyrrhic Victory" Dumbledore supplied.

"Actually - that is an entirely different Pyrrhus" Luna said, leaning forward "Hermione's intended was given the name Pyrrhus by his father, but his original name was Neoptolemus"

"I'm going to marry a guy named Neoptolemus?" Luna looked up to find Hermione, Harry, Neville and Sally-Anne stood at the end of the table "That doesn't sound like me"

"Miss Lovegood was just telling me about the origin of your name, Miss Granger" Dumbledore said with a polite smile.

"It's from A Winter's Tale" Hermione replied, then looked at Luna "Isn't it?" 

"I'll tell you later" Luna smiled "Professor Dumbledore was just looking in on me - making sure I am adjusting to life at Hogwarts after being on my own for a while" She gave Dumbledore a bright smile "I was just telling him that having friends like you is making it a little easier" 

"Which, of course, I was gratified to hear" Dumbledore slowly rose to his feet "If you will excuse me, I will leave you to your lunches"

"Thank you for coming to check on me, sir" Luna smiled.

"My pleasure, Miss Lovegood" He gave the others a nod, then turned and walked up to the front of The Hall. Luna turned back to the four friends.

"How was your first lesson with Professor Lockhart?" Luna asked with a bright smile.

xoxox

The following evening, Harry and Hermione walked over to join the three Ravenclaws after the evening meal finished. 

"Professor Flitwick really gave you permission to do this?" Harry asked as he sat down opposite Luna.

"Apparently he has been watching Professor Lockhart's classes and when I asked him about holding review classes in the hour or so after the evening meal, he was more than happy to agree" Luna smiled "So what would you like to revise this evening?"

"That's more Hermione's thing than mine" Harry smiled "She's the brainy type - I just tend to listen to her"

"From what I've seen, that's probably wise" Luna grinned at him, then turned to Hermione "So - what do you think?" Hermione looked back at her, then at the other two Ravenclaws.

"The smart students want me in charge?" She asked in a lightly mocking tone "What is the world coming to...urk!" She glanced down at the bread roll that had bounced off her head, then looked up at Neville "Resorting to violence is a clear sign you have lost the hight ground" She said with a grin.

"I'm smart enough to know where my strengths are" Neville grinned back at her. She laughed, then looked down at her notepad.

"Given Professor Lockhart's.... unique approach to teaching, I think we will probably spend most of the time focusing on Defence. But I have to admit, I could use help with Herbology and Magical Creatures"

"Luckily we know someone who has some skills at Herbology" Sally-Anne nudged Neville with her elbow "Someone who requires more than a little help with potions, from what I understand"

"Who doesn't?" Harry rolled his eyes, then looked at the smug expression on Sally-Anne's face "Present company excepted, of course"

"Of course" Sally-Anne grinned "So - what's first?" Harry and Hermione both opened their mouths, but before either of them could speak, she Sally-Anne added "If you say 'what's on second', it will go badly for you" 

"You're no fun" Hermione pouted, then flipped her notepad open "So - Defence?"

xoxox

Two hours later, Luna looked over to where Harry and Neville were talking about the charms homework Flitwick had given them. 

"See something you like?" Hermione asked in a low voice. Luna turned, blushing slightly.

"I just like seeing friends helping each other" She replied, still slightly red "Someone once said that co-operation is the only thing that will redeem humanity - if we can make a start now then maybe, one day, we'll save the world" Hermione blinked in slight surprise, then looked over at them again.

"Anyone you want to save the world with?" She asked. Luna rolled her eyes then turned to face Hermione and Sally-Anne.

"I haven't turned twelve yet and the last few years I've met exactly two people - my Uncle and Professor Dumbledore" Luna paused "I am just getting used to talking to people again and I'm not looking for anything.... more" Hermione smiled, while Sally-Anne grinned.

"But if you were?" She asked "I mean - all that time alone, you must have given it some thought"

"Given what some thought?" Luna frowned.

"When you meet your knight in shining armour - the person who will sweep you off your feet and carry you away to their castle in the mountains where you'll live happily ever after"

"Maybe a few dreams" Luna admitted with a blush "But I think I'd rather make friends with my knight in shining armour before he sweeps me off my fight" She rested her head on her hands "I think that any lasting..... co-operation has to be based on friendship"

"Me too" Hermione said quietly. Luna gave her a brief smile, then looked over at Sally-Anne.

"How about you?" She asked. Sally-Anne grinned, then shook her head.

"I've done the being friends first thing" She said "It didn't work out and ended pretty badly" She shrugged "Now I want something..... new. Something intense" Luna gave her a thoughtful look, then picked up the glass of orange juice "I want the thunderbolt. I want the can't eat, can't sleep, can't do anything except think about he.... them" She bit her lip "I want my white knight to arrive in a blaze of excitement......" Sally-Anne stopped as Luna coughed, sending a stream of orange juice all over the table ""Are you alright?

"I'm fine" Luna said, then she let out another cough "I guess some orange juice went down the wrong way" She picked up her wand and vanished the mess she'd made "Sorry - you were saying?"

"Doesn't matter" Sally-Anne shook her head "Like you said - we are young, and have the whole of our lives ahead of us. We're kids - we should get to act like it for a while" 

xoxox

"So what was with the orange juice?" Harry asked as he and Luna walked down the main stairs of The Fort.

"What?" Luna looked round at him, a slightly confused expression on her face.

"Tonight - when you were talking to Sally and Hermione, you spat out a fountain of orange juice all over the table" Harry said, pulling the door open to let her into the basement area.

"Oh - that" Luna smiled, then she and Harry walked over to the table.

"Yes - that" Harry rolled his eyes "Is this one of those things you can't tell me?"

"Pretty much" Luna admitted "But I can tell you that when you are one of the most powerful seers on the planet, irony abounds in more ways than you can possibly imagine"

xoxox

The next few weeks went by as they settled into a routine. Their homework group grew in popularity - gaining members from Gryffindor and Slytherin as well as Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

The five friends also started to spend more time together at the weekends, and pretty soon the student body got used to seeing them all walking through The Quad or sitting by The Dark Lake, watching Carradoc jet back and forth across the surface.

Harry, Hermione, Neville and Luna spent their nights alternating between continuing the exploration of The Underland and having fun in The Dreamland.

Before they realised it, it was the night before Halloween. 

"Do you want to talk to Professor Sprout again?" Hermione asked as she, Luna and Harry walked towards The Great Hall.

"Professor Sprout?" Luna raised an eyebrow.

"How much do you know about Halloween and Godric's Hollow?" Harry asked quietly, then the three of them sat down at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Luna gazed at him thoughtfully.

"People pay attention to the wrong thing" She said "They celebrate the death of Voldemort and your part in it, while forgetting there were two other people there" Harry gave a brief nod "When people look at me, they see the girl who returned to the magical world - who escaped from her Death Eater father" She paused, then sighed "He is still my father but no one seems to care" Harry slipped her hand in to his, and gave it a squeeze.

"I'll talk to her" Hermione said.

"Thank you"

xoxox

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger, but I really don't think it will do any good" Pomona sighed "I spoke to him last year, but he was pretty insistent that Mr Potter's position in society should be celebrated - that on the anniversary of his greatest triumph, the school should show him what he means to us - all of us"

"His parents died a brutal, horrible death, Professor" Hermione said insistently "Do you think he wants to sit through an evening of that being celebrated?" 

"I understand, and I sympathise, Miss Granger, but there is very little I can do about it" Pomona said sincerely "I've spoken to the other Heads of House - Filius, Minvera and Severus - but they all agreed even if we took this request to The Headmaster together, he would probably still ignore it and do whatever he wants"

"You asked Professor Snape for help?" Hermione asked in surprise, making Pomona smile.

"Given his feelings about Mr Potter's fame and celebrity, I thought he might like the idea" Pomona gave her a wry grin "He actually thought it was a good idea, but he doesn't believe that The Headmaster would agree" Hermione sighed, then she stood up.

"Professor....." She paused, then sighed again "Professor - the four of us stand with Harry on this, and we aren't going to stand by and let him go through this alone" 

"I would expect nothing less, Miss Granger" Pomona replied "But, as I reminded you last year, sometimes it can be more effective to make your stand by.... by standing, if you will pardon the phrase" 

"I... we will take it under advisement, Professor" Hermione smiled "And thank you for trying. Harry truly appreciates it" She paused "Although I might not mention Professor Snape's involvement - Halloween is a hard enough time for Harry without adding any more shocks on top of it"

xoxox

"So what do you think?" Hermione looked at her friends stood around The Fort table. 

"You don't have to do this you know" Harry looked at each of them in turn.

"I think we do" Luna replied "Do you really expect us to sit and watch you go through this alone? Do you think that little of us?"

"No" He shook his head "I just mean that you don't have to get in trouble because of me"

"We aren't letting you wander round the school alone on Halloween" Neville said calmly "Last year there was a troll. This year there could be a dragon. Or a giant snake. Or a rampaging hippogriff" Harry laughed, then glanced at Luna with a raised eyebrow.

"I haven't seen anything" Luna replied with a shrug "Well - nothing related to Harry being eaten by a giant greasy monster" She paused "Which I guess is a good thing"

"You guess?" Harry raised a quizzical eyebrow. She laughed, then blew him a kiss. 

"So - tomorrow?" Hermione asked again.

"I'm not going" Harry said "I'm not asking any of you to stay with me - I want you each to make up your own minds - but, for those of you who don't know, the password to the Hufflepuff common room is 'Galahad'" 

"Always helpful to know" Neville smiled "The Feast starts about half seven. So we meet just after that?" 

"Sounds like a plan" Sally-Anne smiled, then looked at Harry "You still have the monopoly board?"

"That, along with Cluedo, Mousetrap and KerPlunk" Harry grinned "Everything you need for a fun night alone in the dorms"

"Excellent" Hermione clapped her hands, then looked at Neville "You'll remember to tell Sally-Anne?" 

"Of course" Neville nodded, then sighed "We're going to have to discuss this at breakfast, aren't we?"

"Yes" Hermione sighed, then she glanced at Luna, who smiled.

"I know, but it's not time yet" She said softly "And before you ask - before any of you ask - I don't know when the time will be, but I know it isn't now"

"We understand" Harry said quietly, and the other two nodded "So - tomorrow?"

xoxox

The next night, Neville met Sally-Anne and Luna at the bottom of the girls' stairs, then together they walked out of The Ravenclaw dorm rooms and headed towards the main stairs.

"Are they going to notice we are gone?" Neville asked they started to descend the grand staircase.

"The Boy Who Lived, The Smartest Witch, The Girl Who Returned and The Son of The Aurors?" Sally-Anne rolled her eyes "If it was just me, I'd guess no one would care, but the four of you make up quite a team" Neville and Luna exchanged glances, then all three of them turned towards the entrance to The Hufflepuff common rooms.

"So what's kerplunk like?" Luna asked as they arrived in front of the guardian portrait.

"And what are three children of Rowena doing on my doorstep this close to The Halloween Feast?" The shepherdess asked, staring down at them with a curious expression.

"We were invited for a wake" Luna said. The shepherdess tilted her head to one side, then gave a single nod.

"I assume they gave you the information you need?" She asked in a kinder voice.

"Galahad" Sally-Anne replied. 

"I should be annoyed that three Ravenclaw students know the secrets of my House, but we can change the password soon enough" She shrugged "Enjoy your evening, and give my regards to Miss Granger and Mr Potter" She walked to one side and the portrait swung open.

xoxox

"Filius? Do you know where Mr Longbottom, Miss Lovegood and Miss Perks might be?" Dumbledore asked in a slightly disappointed voice. 

"I don't, Albus" Flitwick shook his head, then exchanged looks with Pomona "I know they were feeling uncomfortable with the order of ceremonies for The Feast" 

"Does that explain the absence of Mr Potter and Miss Granger?" Dumbledore looked at Pomona.

"I would imagine so, Albus" Pomona replied in a calm, flat tone. Dumbledore stared back at her thoughtfully.

"I suppose asking either of you to fetch your wayward charges would be a waste of my time?" He asked. Filius and Pomona exchanged another glance.

"I can ask them" Filius said after a moment "However - unless I am mistaken - there is nothing in the school rules to say students have to attend The Halloween Feast"

"Mr Potter's future will not be served by hiding himself away from the world" Dumbledore stared at his staff "And if his friends are leading him astray...."

"Astray?" Pomona said, then - looking around - she lowered her voice "They aren't leading him anywhere, Albus, and he is not leading them either. They are friends - that is all"

"If I were to ask you to fetch Mr Potter and his friends, would you ignore my request?" He asked.

"Of course not Albus" Filius said with a polite smile "I would find my three wayward students and ask them if they want to come to the evening meal" He paused "At which point I would fully expect them to tell me the real reason why they didn't want to come - that they are all feeling ill and are going to spend the evening in bed" 

"Ill?" Dumbledore asked.

"Mr Potter was sniffing during class" Pomona said thoughtfully "And given the amount of time that they spend together, it wouldn't surprise me if they all came down with a cold at the same time" Dumbledore gazed at them a moment longer, then he turned and stood up, looking at the assembled students.

"Good evening, and welcome to The Halloween Feast" 

xoxox

"It's not that I object to the magical world celebrating the vanquishing of Voldemort" Harry said, pacing back and forth in the Hufflepuff common room "Believe me - I am just as happy that he was vanquished that night" He turned and flumped down into the seat next to Luna.

"You just want them to celebrate the truth" She said, resting her hand on his arm. 

"I didn't do anything" He nodded "I just laid in my crib, whining and probably pooping in my nappy, while my father laid down his life to try to protect my mother and me, and my mother laid down her life to try to protect me" He closed his eyes, leaning his head against Luna's shoulder. The others watch him for a moment, then Hermione reached out and picked up her drink.

"To James and Lily" She said, raising her glass. A moment later, Sally-Anne and Neville followed her lead. Harry opened his eyes, and looked across at Hermione.

"James and Lily" He smiled as he and Luna reached out and picked up their glasses. They all clinked their glasses together then took a drink.

"So" Harry said, putting his glass down "Who's up for a game of KerPlunk?"

xoxox

Three hours later, Harry let out a long sigh, then counted out two hundred and seven galleons, put the notes into one big pile and handed them to Luna.

"Take it" He said with another sigh "Although charging rent for Hogwarts seems to be a little mean" Luna grinned at him.

"Rules of the game, sweetie" She said, taking the money and adding it to her own already considerable stack of wealth. Harry rolled his eyes, then leaned back into the sofa.

"I'm out" He said "I mean, I have a few knuts left, but whatever I throw I am going to end up paying it to someone" He looked at the others "Anyone else want to call it a day?"

"Luna has all my money" Hermione said.

"Ditto" Sally-Anne added.

"I have enough to go maybe two more rounds" Neville said "But since one quarter of the board is covered with train stations and the rest of it is covered with Luna, I am pretty sure I should just hand her all my money now and cut out the suspense" Luna laughed.

"So - we've played KerPlunk, Cluedo and Monopoly" She said, then glanced at her watch "The Feast will be over soon - we should probably be getting back"

"We'll walk you" Hermione said, getting to her feet.

"Oh - you don't have to" Neville waved his hand.

"We know" Harry smiled "That's what makes it so much fun" He stood up, then held out his hand to Luna "Shall we, my lady?"

"We shall" Luna allowed him to pull her up, then the five of them walked towards the portrait. 

xoxox

Ten minutes later, they reached the second floor when Hermione came to a halt, and looked along the corridor.

"Guys - what's that?" She pointed to her left, and they all turned to see what she meant.

"I know what it looks like" Sally-Anne said "But Filch can't have polished the floor that much, can he?"

"It's not polish" Luna said quietly "It's water - the entire floor is soaking wet"

"Myrtle?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Who's Myrtle?" Neville and Harry asked.

"She's a ghost" Sally-Anne said "According to the gossip, she died here some time in the fifties and hasn't moved on" She waved her hand in the direction of the reflection "She occupies the toilet down yonder"

"And she's flooding the school?" Harry asked sceptically.

"Lets go see" Hermione replied, striding off down the corridor, sploshing through the water as she got closer to the bathroom. When she reached the corner, she stopped dead, barely registering the footsteps coming up behind her.

"Hermione?" Neville asked "What's wrong?" 

"That" Hermione pointed at what Neville had assumed was a shadow cast by the torches that were hung along the wall. It was only when he took another step forward that he realised the shadow wasn't moving like it should.

"Oh god" Sally-Anne let out a low moan "I think.... I think it's Mrs Norris"

"Is she dead?" Luna asked in a faint voice, then they all turned as they heard more splashes behind them.

"Students. Out in The Halls" Mr Filch smiled a predatory smiled at them "I think Christmas has come......" He trailed off, staring past them. 

"What have you done?" He strode over to the wall, and stared in horror at the frozen shape of Mrs Norris, dangling from one of the torch holders. Turning, he stared angrily at them "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"Argus? What is wrong?" The caretaker turned as Dumbledore, accompanied by Lockhart and the four Heads of House, strode along the corridor towards them.

"THIS BOY HAS KILLED MRS NORRIS!" Filch bellowed, pointing directly at Harry. Dumbledore gazed at the suspended cat for a moment, then looked towards Harry and his friends.

"Mr Potter?" 

"We just arrived" Harry replied "We've been in the common room all night, and we were just walking Sally, Neville and Luna back to the Ravenclaw common rooms"

"HE'S LYING!" Filch yelled "HE KILLED MY CAT!"

"Argus - calm yourself" Dumbledore looked around as he realised there was a large group of students gathering around them "I do not believe your cat is dead" He drew his wand, and ran a few scans "It appears that it is just petrified" 

"Petrified? She's alive?" Filch looked at the cat with an expression of joy on his face.

"Such a pity I didn't come along earlier - I know just the counter curse that could have prevented this" Lockhart gave the assembled group a winning smile.

"Quite" McGonagall said "Mr Potter - you have still to account for your whereabouts earlier this evening" 

"He has already told you where we were, Professor McGonagall" Neville said quietly but firmly "We spent the evening in The Hufflepuff common room, playing games, and were just walking back to Ravenclaw Tower"

"This isn't the way to The Tower" Snape said with a sneer.

"We saw a stray reflection" Luna said "There was light bouncing off something, so we came to see what it was" She paused "We were going to inform someone that Myrtle had flooded the corridor - wet floors can be slippery and are a hazard, Professor" 

"Very well put, Miss Lovegood" Filius smiled "And two points to each of you for thinking of the safety of the other students"

"We still have to establish where they were earlier this evening, Headmaster" Snape said, turning to Dumbledore "They could have come through here earlier, attacked that feline creature, then pretended to come along here just in time for us to see them" 

"We spent the evening in the common room, Professor" Hermione looked at Dumbledore "Headmaster - you have you own way of confirming where students are, do you not?"

"To what are you referring, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked in a kindly tone.

"The shepherdess who guards the portrait can confirm when Neville, Luna and I arrived" Sally-Anne said "And she can confirm that we - the five of us - left. Surely that would prove we are telling the truth" 

"I will confer with them later" Dumbledore gave a brief nod "What did you see when you came up here?"

"Luna already told you, sir" Harry said in a slightly annoyed tone "We were returning to Ravenclaw Tower, and when we reached arrived on this floor, we saw light bouncing around and came to investigate" 

"Did you touch Mrs Norris?" Filius asked politely.

"No" Hermione shook her head "We found her a moment before you all arrived"

"So you want us to believe you had nothing to do with this?" Snape asked sarcastically.

"You can believe whatever you want" Sally-Anne said under her breath, then heard Neville and Hermione snort in amusement. She looked up to find a number of the students looking like they were trying to avoid laughing, while most of the teachers were giving her vaguely disapproving looks.

"Professor Sprout - I believe you are growing some mandrakes this year?" Dumbledore asked, and Pomona nodded "How long do you think they will take to reach full maturity?"

"I'm sorry, Albus, but we just started growing them last week" She said apologetically "It will be at least seven or eight months - May or June would be my best estimate"

"Very well" Dumbledore turned back to the caretaker "We will look after your cat, Argus - and I promise that we will restore her to health as soon as possible" He walked over and rested a comforting hand on Filch's shoulder "She will be okay, Argus"

"Thank you" Filch pulled out a hanky and dabbed his eyes, then glared at Harry and his friends before turning and walking off down the corridor.

"I believe it is time for all of you to return to your common rooms" Dumbledore raised his voice, turning on the spot. Before he had finished speaking, the students started to disperse.

"Want to go?" Harry asked the others, but then sighed when he heard Dumbledore call his name "Wait for me?"

"Count on it" Luna said, then Harry turned around to find Dumbledore and the four Heads of House stood in front of him.

"Professor.....s" He said.

"Why were you not at The Feast tonight?" Dumbledore asked in a voice that radiated disappointment.

"Wasn't feeling well" Harry replied at once, then gave a fake cough. 

"And your friends?"

"They know how hard this night is for me, sir" Harry said simply "They didn't want me to be alone" Dumbledore gazed down at him, then blinked when Luna let out a gasp of surprise. 

"Very well" Dumbledore turned "Filius, Pomona - can you escort your students back to their common rooms?"

"Yes, sir" Filius nodded.

"Of course" Pomona smiled at Harry and Hermione.

"I hope you feel better, Mr Potter" Dumbeldore gave him a patronising smile "I would not want you missing classes on Monday"

"Thank you, sir" Harry gave him an appreciative smile, then walked off with Pomona and Hermione. 

"Anything?" Snape asked. Dumbledore shook his head "How is that possible?"

"I do not know, Severus" 

xoxox

"He tried to read your mind?" Hermione asked when she and Harry were alone.

"It's why Luna gasped" Harry nodded "Don't worry - he didn't see anything"

"You're sure?" 

"Luna trained me well" Harry smiled, then her smile faded "Hermione...."

"Yes" She nodded, making him laugh.

"You don't even know what I am going to ask" He pointed out.

"You want to test what Luna has taught me" Hermione said quietly "You want to see if my vault is as secure as your's is" Harry bit his lip, then nodded "Have at it"

"You aren't worried what I might see?" He asked curiously. Hermione merely smiled back at him. 

"Okay" He looked into her eyes, then whispered "legilimens"

Almost at once, he as if his mind was leaving his own head, _and appearing somewhere else._

_Looking around, he found himself in what appeared to be a Roman temple. He looked around, then realised he was stood in the centre of a five pointed star._

_"What happens if I walk out of the star?" He asked._

_"Lions and tigers and bears" The voice came from all around, and even knowing who was speaking he had trouble recognising it._

_"Oh my" He smiled, then he thought about his own mind_ and found himself looking into Hermione's eyes again.

"Satisfied?" She asked.

"Definitely" He smiled, then glanced at his watch "The others should be back by now. Want to go to Gondolin?"

xoxox

Ten minutes later, they bounded up the central stairs in Castle Gondolin, then pushed open the door to find Luna pacing back and forth, while Neville sat on the sofa, watching her.

"Luna?" Harry called out, but she paid no attention and continued pacing.

"She's been like this for fifteen minutes" Neville said. Harry nodded, then he took a few steps forward and put himself in Luna's path. She turned and walked back towards him, then stopped just before she crashed into him.

"Harry?" She blinked a few times in surprise, then looked past him "Hermione? Neville? When did you all get here?"

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, guiding her over to the sofa. 

"Dumbledore lied" She said "He lied about Mrs Norris and he lied to Filch, and okay, I don't really like Mr Filch all that much - he's creepy and a little weird and I'm not sure he actually likes any of the students - but I don't think he deserves being lied to or treated like that, especially by someone who pretends to be his friend, but that's really not related to the biggest problem which is that he lied about what caused all this" She paused "Where was I?"

"Dumbledore lied?" Hermione half asked, half said.

"Oh yes" Luna turned, then waved her hand at the far wall, which turned black "I can't see the past, but I can see the futures that didn't happen and I can see earlier parts of the future that happened" She paused, then looked at the wall "The future I saw for tonight included this....." 

The wall burst into life, showing the events in the corridor from earlier that night - with one major difference.

"Woah" Hermione jumped off the sofa and walked over to the wall "Where did that come from?" Neville and Harry stood up and walked over to stand beside her.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of The Heir beware" Hermione read the words, painted in big red letters on the wall opposite Myrtle's toilet.

"I know we had a long day, and had a bit of a surprise at the end, but that wasn't there tonight, was it?" Harry looked at the others.

"No - it wasn't" Hermione shook her head, then looked at Luna "This was what was supposed to happen?"

"I saw it every night last week" Luna gave a brief nod "This was what I expected to happen tonight" 

"So what happened to the writing?" Neville asked, his gaze alternating between Luna and the wall.

"This" Luna waved her hand again, and the wall went black. A moment later it lit up again "This was three hours earlier. As you can see....." She pointed at the giant red letters. She waved her hand, and the memory started running. 

For a few moments, nothing happened - the only sign that time was passing was the water lapping against the sides of the corridor. 

"Luna....." Harry started, but she held her hand up, and he fell silent as a figure cloaked in shadow walked up the corridor, coming to a halt in front of the letters.

Nothing happened for a few moments, then the figure drew a wand and cast a silent spell that erased the letters from the wall. It stood to admire it's handiwork for a few moments, then turned and walked back down the corridor. 

"So who....." Harry started again, but before he could finish his question, the shadows appeared to melt away, leaving a man with bright eyes and a long white beard, wearing brightly coloured robes. As he reached the end of the corridor, Dumbledore looked around one final time, then disappeared out of sight.


	5. Chasing The Snitch

"....and the new Gryffindor seeker dodges not one but two bludgers, and pulls up before she ploughs in to the ground. Not since the glory days of Charlie Weasley have we seen a Gryffindor seeker with such skill, and it should come as no surprise that his baby sister is equally skilled"

"Lee seems to be impressed with Ginny" Harry said, watching as the young red-head weaved in and out of the area under the stands before shooting across the pitch.

"She is good" Hermione admitted "Youngest seeker for nearly a century" They watched the game for a few minutes "Harry....."

"Yes?" He continued to watch the game for a minute or so, then turned to look at her when she didn't answer "Hermione?" She looked at him, then shook her head.

"Doesn't matter - it's nothing"

"You sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah" She smiled at him, then looked back to where Fred was launching a bludger down the field to break up the Hufflepuff chaser attack.

"And as The Weasley Wonders send The Hufflepuff chasers scattering, Cedric Diggory takes off down the pitch at full tilt. Could he have seen the snitch?" At Lee's voice, Harry and Hermione jumped to their feet, along with the rest of the Hufflepuffs, and started cheering, stamping and yelling Cedric's name.

"The youngest Weasley pulls her broom round and...... sets off in another direction. Is this a lack of experience from the youngest seeker in a century or has she seen something that Cedric hasn't?" Lee's voice radiated excitement "Both seekers are clearly aiming for something specific - is one of them bluffing to try to psyche the other out? Are they both bluffing? Or is one going to be disappointed, the other victorious?" 

"Oh dear" Hermione pointed to where Cedric was starting to slow down 

"You don't think....." Harry asked, then his face fell as Cedric came to a halt, then span round to watch Ginny vanishing across the other side of the pitch.

"Cedric stops, while Ginny Weasley actually accelerates towards the top of the Ravenclaw stands!" Lee was practically bouncing with excitement "And with the score standing at eighty points to seventy, catching the snitch could well decide the outcome of the..... AND GINNY WEASLEY CATCHES THE SNITCH!!" Lee bellowed as The Gryffindor stands exploded into cheers and applause "GRYFFINDOR WIN by two hundred and twenty points to eighty!!!" 

xoxox

"Sorry about the game" Cedric looked round, then smiled as Harry and Hermione caught up with him "You played well" 

"Thank you" Cedric said "But the truth is young Miss Weasley pretty much outplayed me at every stage" He smiled fondly "For someone playing in her first game she was... pretty impressive"

"It wasn't her first game" Harry said conversationally "She's been working with our little homework group, and last week she mentioned that she'd been playing with her brothers since almost before she could walk" 

"She's been playing with Fred and George?" Cedric sighed.

"And Bill and Charlie" Hermione added.

"Charlie? The former seeker?" Cedric raised an eyebrow.

"And Bill, the former captain" Hermione said.

"She's been playing with four of the best players in recent times since she was born?" Cedric rolled his eyes "Did I stand any chance at all of beating her?"

"You have three years more real game experience" Harry pointed out.

"True" Cedric nodded, then sighed "I underestimated her and I paid the price" He paused "Cho and Malfoy won't make the same mistake"

"Maybe they will" Hermione said "Draco is arrogant enough to think no one can challenge him - especially a Weasley" The sarcasm in her voice made Harry and Cedric laugh.

"And Cho may think she's seen all of Ginny's tricks" Hermione continued "But I would guess given she is the sister of Fred and George, she has a few more tricks up her sleeve"

"So you think we still have a shot?" Cedric asked, then smiled as both Harry and Hermione shrugged "Good answer"

"What do you think of next week?" Hermione asked him. 

"Cho has learned a lot in the last two years, while Draco bought his way onto the team with Daddy's money" Cedric snorted derisively "And the Ravenclaw team have been playing enough together not to be intimidated by Team Slytherin's brutish tactics" He smiled "If they win by less than a hundred points, I'll be very surprised" 

xoxox

Luna sat bolt upright in bed clutching her hands against the sheets. 

"A broken arm or a life more ordinary" She said to herself, then sighed "Let the rain fall as it will" She lay back down, turned onto her side and closed her eyes. A few moments later, she was asleep again.

xoxox

Hermione rushed into The Great Hall the next morning, looking around. 

"Hermione?" Luna looked up from her breakfast.

"Sorry, Luna - I was looking for Cedric" Hermione replied distractedly "You haven't seen him have you?"

"Sorry" Luna shook her head "What's up?"

"Cho's been taken to the infirmary" Hermione looked over her shoulder "She's..... oh - there he is" She looked back at Luna and said "I'll see you at lunch" before turning and bounding off.

"Okay" Luna smiled, then watched as Hermione ran over to Cedric, then skidded to a halt. They exchanged a few words, then Cedric's face fell, before he turned and walked off. Hermione stayed where she was for a moment, then she turned and walked back towards Luna.

"Sorry, Luna" Hermione sat down opposite her "That was a bit abrupt" A bowl of cereal appeared in front of her, and she picked up a spoon and took a mouthful "Harry and I were coming up from the common room and we saw Cho coming down the main stairs" Hermione paused, taking another mouthful of cereal "We're not quite sure how it happened, but about five steps from the bottom, she missed a step, or tripped, and fell down the rest of them"

"Oh my" Luna exclaimed "Is she alright?"

"I'm not sure, but...." Hermione sighed "I think she's broken her arm"

xoxox

Cedric bolted into the infirmary, then skidded to a halt as he saw one of the beds surrounded by a screen of curtains.

"Cedric? Hermione found you?" Cedric looked to see Harry sat on the bed opposite the one that was encurtained.

"Yeah" Cedric nodded "Do you know what's wrong?" He glanced at the screen of curtains "Is it....."

"Oh - no" Harry shook his head, smiling slightly "Madame Pomfrey had to examine her, and what with me being a boy and all....." He turned slightly pink, making Cedric grin.

"Is she alright?"

"She will be, Mr Diggory" Pomfrey walked out from the curtained area.

"What happened?" He asked. Promfrey glanced at Harry, but Cedric waved his hand "You can tell him as well - the news will get around school soon enough"

"I suppose that is true" Promfrey shrugged "Miss Chang slipped down the stairs and fell. When she landed, she broke her right arm in three places, bruised her left hip and....." She trailed off, glanced at Harry, then looked back at Cedric "Anyway - I have managed to repair her arm - it is almost as good as new - and healed the various bruises"

"Good - thank you" Cedric sighed.

"However she will not be playing in the Quidditch match tomorrow" Promfrey continued "She needs to rest her arm for at least forty eight hours before doing anything serious with it. Carrying books, holding hands - that's fine - but she can't fly, and if her arm gets hit with a bludger then I am not sure I would be able to repair it again"

"Okay...." Cedric glanced at the curtains "Will this be forever? She loves...."

"No, no" Pomfrey shook her head "If she comes back on Sunday, then a follow up the next day, I am sure she'll be able to play in time for the next match"

"Her first match will be against her boyfriend?" Harry smiled "That should be entertaining" Cedric rolled his eyes, pretending to glare at him "Sorry" Cedric laughed.

"Madame Pomfrey - can I see her?" He asked.

"For a few minutes. She can leave after lunch, but I want her to rest for a while" The Matron nodded, then looked at Harry "Mr Potter?"

"I'm going to go talk to Hermione and the others" Harry said, getting to his feet.

"Don't tell the Ravenclaws - at least, don't let them spread it around" Cedric said "Cho should be the one to tell them"

"Okay" Harry nodded "Just Neville, Sally-Anne and Luna, and they can keep a secret" 

"Thanks" Cedric smiled, then vanished in to the curtained area, while Harry walked out of the infirmary.

xoxox

"So she can't play tomorrow?" Neville asked in a low voice.

"Not so much" Harry shook his head "She'll be fine, but Madame Pomfrey is worried about permanent damage to her arm" 

"They can't postpone the game?" Hermione frowned "I would have thought that - in cases like this...."

"I think they can ask" Sally-Anne said "But it would depend on the good will of the other team and agreement between the two Heads of House" She paused "Or possibly...."

"Possibly what?" Hermione asked.

"Never mind" Sally-Anne shook her head "I think it will all depend on whether Professors Sprout and Snape can reach an agreement"

"Snape?" Neville snorted derisively "I'm surprised he hasn't demanded they forfeit already" 

"What's going to happen?" Harry asked "If the team can't find a replacement for Cho, and Snape doesn't put the game off, do they have to play without a seeker? Is that even allowed?" He looked at the others, but didn't get a reply.

"We should probably get going" Harry glanced at his watch "Time and tide and buttered eggs wait for no man" 

"They are making buttered eggs in charms now?" Luna asked, looking confused.

"Buttereus Ovinus!" Hermione declared "Very useful charm to surprise your enemies - no one expects buttered eggs to fall from the sky"

"I thought no one expected the Spanish Inquisition?" Sally-Anne asked.

"The Spanish Inquisition uses buttered eggs?" Neville asked. Harry stared at her for a moment, then shook his head.

"Charms class"

xoxox

"Did you hear what happened?" Luna sat down at the end of The Hufflepuff table for lunch "Draco Malfoy's been injured"

"How?" Hermione asked, lowering the forkful of carrots she had been about to eat.

"The Gryffindors and Slytherins had Magical Creatures this morning" Luna started, then stopped as all four students rolled their eyes "What?"

"Sometimes Hagrid's lessons are more like an adventure in survival than adventures in learning" Hermione said "What happened in this one?"

"Hagrid was teaching about fire creatures" Luna said.

"That sounds like a good start" Neville said with a slight grin.

"The lesson was going more or less okay - well, no one had been bitten, eaten or burned - when Hagrid pulled out a box of Ashwinder Eggs" Luna continued "They were supposed to be immature eggs - ones that were no where near close to hatching - and he just wanted to show them what the eggs looked like" 

"Let me guess" Neville said, taking a bite of the steak from her plate "Not so immature?"

"It was just one egg, and from what I've heard, Draco may have had it coming" Luna shrugged "A few students - from both Houses - say he was hitting the egg with his wand, casting one or two spells, that sort of thing" She paused "Either way - the baby ashwinder burst out of the egg and jumped onto Draco"

"Oh dear" Hermione sighed. Luna looked at her "From what I remember, Baby Ashwinders are like baby..... babies" She laughed, shaking her head "Control of their bladders and bowels is not all that good" The others stared at her, then all started laughing.

"His robes got a little scorched" Luna nodded "But it seems Draco panicked, tried to bat the baby off his chest" The snickering trailed off.

"How bad?" Harry asked quietly.

"The ashwinder bit his hand and..... farted on his sleeve, burning his arm a little" Luna sighed "He's been in the infirmary since the lesson"

"Will Hagrid get in trouble?" Hermione frowned.

"The students can tell them what happened" Luna replied "Even if the Slytherins are a little reluctant, I think Dumbledore can prove that Draco wasn't following the instructions and was the cause of his own injury - so to speak" She smiled "However he isn't going to be able to play tomorrow"

"Can you play a Quidditch game without either seeker?" Hermione asked with a grin.

"Could be fun, but since the game ends when someone catches the snitch, I think having no seekers might be a bit hard" Sally-Anne replied "But now that Draco can't play, perhaps Snape might be more amenable to postponing the game for a week"

"Professor Snape, Miss Perks" Sally-Anne looked round at the sound of Dumbledore's voice.

"With all due respect, Professor Dumbledore, when I am having a semi-private conversation with my friends, I will refer to people however I please"

"That is your prerogative, I suppose" Dumbledore continued in the same tone "However I thought it might interest you to know that I have just come from a meeting with Professor Snape, Marcus Flint, Professor Flitwick and Marcus Belby. Following Mr Malfoy's injury, Professor Snape asked if the game could - in fact - be postponed"

"Not surprising" Hermione smiled "Did Professor Flitwick agree to postpone the game?" 

"He didn't" Dumbledore turned his gaze to Sally-Anne again "Miss Perks - perhaps you would care to enlighten your friends?" Harry, Hermione, Neville and Luna all turned to face Sally-Anne, who blushed.

"I was waiting to see whether it would happen or not, sir" She said, still bright red.

"Sally? You have a secret?" Harry asked.

"I went to talk to Professor Flitwick earlier today" Sally-Anne said, starting to smile "I am the new seeker for Team Ravenclaw tomorrow" 

"Congratulations" Hermione smiled.

"Go you" Harry added.

"I didn't want to say anything - if the game was going to be postponed until Malfoy and Cho were better, I didn't want to blow my own trumpet" Sally-Anne looked up at Dumbledore "What did Sn.... what did Professor Snape say when Professor Flitwick refused?"

"Professor Snape said that he will find a seeker to play tomorrow, although he did voice the opinion that if Professor Flitwick and The Ravenclaw Team were true sportsmen, they wouldn't take advantage of a situation like this" Both Harry and Hermione snorted in derision, making Dumbledore turn to gaze at them "You find something amusing, Mr Potter?"

"When Cho was injured, I understand Professor Flitwick asked if the match could be postponed" Harry said flatly.

"He did" Dumbledore nodded.

"And what was Professor Snape's reply?" Harry asked.

"He said that it was not his fault if Miss Chang was clumsy enough to trip over her own feet, and that his players should not be disadvantaged because of someone else's inability to walk without falling over" Dumbledore said simply.

"And yet when Malfoy gets hurt, somehow The Ravenclaw team are the ones at fault?" Harry gazed intently at Dumbledore.

"Mr Malfoy's injury was different" Dumbledore let a slight frown cross his face "It was not his fault" Harry opened his mouth, then closed it when he felt Luna's foot press down on his.

"However" Dumbledore continued "The rules that govern the Quidditch cup are very well written, and given Professor Flitwick's intractability on this issue, the game will proceed tomorrow" He paused, then tilted his head "If you will excuse me" He walked up The Entrance Hall, while Harry, Hermione, Luna and Neville turned back to Sally-Anne.

"Ravenclaw seeker?" Hermione asked, eyebrows raised.

"I've played a few games in the past few years - The Tower has a magical area and a lot of kids in the area go there to play" Sally-Anne smiled "I am pretty sure I am not up to Cho's standard, or Cedric's or Ginny's, but I can hold my own"

"Who do you think The Slytherins are going to get for tomorrow?" Neville asked.

"Don't know" Sally-Anne shrugged "But given how Draco got on the team on the first place, my guess is they might recruit Lucius instead"

xoxox

"Welcome to the second match of The Quidditch Cup" Lee's voice boomed through the pitch "Following the stunning debut of Ginny Weasley as seeker last week, we were expecting to see if Draco Malfoy could do equally well on his debut for Slytherin this week" There were a few muted cheers from the Slytherin stands.

"However - a rash of bad luck seems to have struck our school this week. Yesterday morning, Cho Chang - the seeker for Ravenclaw for the past two years - tripped and fell on the stairs, injuring her arm. Then, less than two hours later, Draco Malfoy was bitten by a newly hatched Ashwinder and was ruled out of the game as well" Lee paused "Following a meeting held early this morning, it was decided that the game would proceed - with both teams providing replacement seekers" This time the Ravenclaws cheered, while the Slytherin end of the stands booed.

"So - without further ado - lets introduce THE TEAMS!" Lee looked down to the Castle Side end of the pitch "For Ravenclaw, Marcus Belby, Toby McGraw, Michelle Montgomery, Harriet Hastings, Melissa Marin, Frederick Fields and playing her first game as seeker - Sally-Anne Perks!" Harry and Hermione started applauding wildly.

"For Slytherin, Marcus Flint, Hector Tershaw, Tarbuck Arrason, Theodore Nott, Phillopies Palmer, Carson Xavier and - making her first appearance as seeker - Blaise Zabini" Some polite applause filled the pitch as the six boys and a girl flew into their positions.

"In a point of interest, Miss Zabini is the first girl to play on The Slytherin team since 1980, when Roberta McGee caught all three snitches in the contest - one of only four students in the whole history of Hogwarts to be able to claim that honour" Lee announced "But now, as Professor Hooch flies into position and prepares to start the game, it's time to go"

"Is that true?" Harry looked at Hermione.

"Yeah - they have to start the game" Hermione grinned. Hermione stuck his tongue out at him "I don't know about The Slytherin thing - I can't imagine why Lee would make it up"

"Did they stop girls playing on the team because the last one humiliated them?" Harry asked, but then Hooch blew her whistle, and the players all started moving at once.

xoxox

Sally-Anne flew upwards, trying to get as high as she could, to get an overview of the pitch. Watching the rest of the teams flying below her made her feel a little nauseous, but she confined herself to staring at little bits of the pitch at a time.

Running her glance around the pitch, she turned as she felt swish of air next to her.

"So how are you doing?" Blaise flew her broom next to Sally-Anne's, hovering in the air beside her.

"Terrified, nervous, wanting to throw up" Sally-Anne smiled "How about you?"

"About the same" Blaise smiled back "But I'm the first girl to represent Slytherin in a generation, and the rest of the team think I am going to screw it up and are already planning on laughing at me" 

"Wow" Sally-Anne exhaled "And I thought I had it bad flying Cho's stead - now I realise I've got it easy" 

"Cho's an amazing player" Blaise replied "I can see why taking her place could be nerve racking" She cast her glance around the pitch "Any sight of it yet?" 

"What if I said it's behind you?" Sally-Anne said with a laugh. Blaise narrowed her eyes.

"Are you screwing with me, Miss Perks?" 

"Perhaps" Sally-Anne laughed, then she looked around "Please don't take this personally, but...." She leaned forward and shot off on her broom, leaving Blaise staring after her.

"It won't help" Blaise smiled, then shot off in a different direction.

xoxox

"They're good" Luna said, watching as the two seekers flew around the pitch. 

"Any idea what's going to happen?" Neville asked quietly. Luna smiled at him.

"How do you know whatever I tell you will be the truth?" She asked "I mean - I could tell you Blaise is going to crash her broom into the Staff Box, knocking Snape backwards into Flitwick, breaking his wand in the process and setting off a magical reaction that will cause a small fire that will force the game to end in a draw"

"That does seem a little unlikely" Neville pointed out. 

"Or I could tell you that Sally is going to catch the snitch in twenty seven seconds" Luna continued. 

"Okay, okay - I get the idea" Neville smiled, then looked up as Sally-Anne flew directly over them "Twenty seven seconds, huh?"

"Well fifteen now" Luna replied with an amused grin.

xoxox

"Are you sure you don't have something better to do?" Sally-Anne glared at Blaise as the girl flew up beside her again "There's a whole pitch for you to explore - go, fly, be free!"

"Maybe I think that trailing you will give me a better idea of where the snitch is" Blaise replied, scanning the pitch "You have obviously done this before - why not learn from the best?"

"I'm the best now?" Sally-Anne raised her eyebrows.

"Well - the best seeker on the pitch" Blaise smirked at her.

"Thanks" Sally-Anne rolled her eyes.

"Well - maybe joint best seeker on the pitch" Blaise amended. 

"Oh that's so much better" Sally-Anne grinned "So - do you want to take off this time?" 

"Actually....." Blaise let her gaze drift to the right, then she grinned "I do" She shot past Sally-Anne, almost flat against her broom.

"Gah!" Sally-Anne yelled, then flew after her.

xoxox

"Maybe I meant twenty seven minutes" Luna looked at Neville thoughtfully. 

"I'm not going to listen to you any more" Neville glared at her.

"Good" Luna lowered her voice "My plan is starting to work. Soon - soon I will rule the world! Mwahahahahaha!" She looked up at Neville "Sorry - what were you saying?"

".....looks like a Zabini has seen the snitch, and Perks is trying to catch up with her. Could this be the..... wait - no, apparently not" Lee's excitement faded as Blaise slowed up and pulled her broom around.

"Montomgery scores again, bringing the scores level" He continued "With eight goals each apiece, and two trios of chasers that seem to be equally matched, it is becoming apparent that the outcome of this game is going to depend on the battle between the two debut seekers" He paused "A battle which might well be hotting up as both Zabini and Perks are now flying flat out to the same point....." 

xoxox

Sally-Anne stared along the length of her broom at the snitch that was bouncing around in the distance. She could see Blaise flying towards the same spot from the opposite direction, and realised they were about the same distance away.

She tried to push herself lower, but realised she was already flat against the surface of the CleanSweep. 

"Must go faster, must go faster" She chanted to herself "Must go faster...."

xoxox

"Nott lines up a swing, belting the bludger towards Perks....." Lee paused "But Montgomery flies to intercept it. She swings her bat and...... bloody hell!" Neville turned to look at Luna, who was trying not to laugh. 

"Sorry about that, folks" Lee continued "While I'm sure that most Quidditch players are used to having bludgers flying straight at their head, it was a new experience for me" He paused "And don't worry - Professor Snape is fine, and has only wounded his pride and his dignity, nothing more serious" There was a wave of laughter around the pitch, making Lee smile.

"Meanwhile I think that we are about to see the game end as..... well.... okay then" Lee trailed off, staring at the centre of the pitch where Blaise and Sally-Anne both had one hand on their respective brooms, and one hand on the snitch.

"It seems that both seekers have caught the snitch at the same time" Lee continued "Which I have to admit, is almost unprecedented.... one moment" He turned as Dumbledore stood up behind him. Covering the magical megaphone, he tilted his head to Dumbledore's ear.

xoxox

"So what happens now?" Luna asked "Can the game really be a draw?"

"Okay - here's what's happening" Lee's voice came through the megaphone again "Each snitch is programmed with something called flesh memory. From the moment it is manufactured, no one touches it with bare hands until the end of the game when the seeker catches it" He paused "The snitch will recognise whoever touched it first, and that way we can determine if Miss Perks or Miss Zabini caught the snitch and so won the game" He - along with everyone in the Quidditch pitch - watched as Dumbledore made his way down to the centre of the pitch, put on a pair of cotton gloves provided by Hooch, then picked up the snitch.

"For now, I will hand over the commentary to Professor Dumbledore" Lee said "He will talk you through the rest of the ceremony"

"Thank you, Mr Jordan" Dumbledore's voice echoed through the stands "As you have all seen, no one has touched the snitch since it was caught by either Miss Perks or Miss Zabini. I am wearing gloves to ensure that I do not accidentally corrupt the process" He turned his hands over.

"In a moment, I will ask Miss Zabini to come over and touch the snitch. If she was the one who caught it, then it will glow bright green and the match will be awarded to Slytherin. If it glows bright red, then that indicates it was Miss Perks who caught it first, and Ravenclaw will be the winners" He paused, then turned to Blaise "Miss Zabini?" 

Blaise walked slowly to the centre of the pitch, and came to a stop in front of Dumbledore.

"If you would?" Dumbledore held out his hand, offering her the snitch. Blaise took a deep breath, then reached out her hand and pressed a single finger to the snitch.

For a moment, nothing happened, then a bright green glow engulfed the golden ball, and a huge cheer erupted from the Lake Side stands.

"Well - it would appear that...." Dumbledore started, but stopped as Blaise raised her hand "Miss Zabini?"

"What if we touched it at exactly the same time?" She asked. 

"The odds are very small, Miss Zabini" Dumbledore said "I would say almost impossible"

"Almost?" Blaise asked.

"Miss Zabini - the snitch has shown you that you touched it first" Dumbledore smiled at her "Do you not want to win the match for your team?" Blaise stared at him, then lowered her voice.

"Professor - either let Sally-Anne touch the snitch, or I will announce to the entire school that I cheated and get myself disqualified" Dumbledore gazed at her, then tilted his head to one side.

"In the interests of fairness, Miss Zabini has requested that Miss Perks repeat the test as well" Dumbledore announced "Miss Zabini has some concerns that - if both she and Miss Perks touched it at the same time, then it would glow green for both of them" He turned to sally-Anne "Miss Perks?"

Sally-Anne strode across, then glanced at Blaise.

"You sure?" She asked.

"Never been surer" Blaise grinned back. Sally-Anne smiled, then turned to Dumbledore. He held the snitch out and Sally-Anne reached out and pressed her finger into it.

For a moment, nothing happened, then - much to Sally-Anne's and Dumbledore's surprise - a green glow started to shine. 

"Astonishing" Dumbledore said, voice tinged with surprise "Miss Zabini - I believe I owe you an apology for doubting you"

"That's alright, Professor - I can understand how unlikely it would seem" Blaise looked at Sally-Anne "Congratulations"

"To you too" Sally-Anne smiled back, then turned to Dumbledore "So, Professor - what happens now?"

"That is an interesting question, Miss Perks" Dumbledore said calmly "Generally, a match that ends in a draw is considered to be a draw. And I believe that would apply here" He paused "However it is general practice that - should The Quidditch Cup end in a tie - if two teams have the same number of wins and the same goal difference, the result is finally decided based on whoever caught the snitch in the game between those two teams"

"Oh" Sally-Anne said "So on the off chance that Ravenclaw and Slytherin both win their next two games by the same number of points....."

"....then The Cup would end up as a draw" Blaise finished "How could we resolve this?"

"That is also an interesting question" Dumbledore smiled "You could replay the match, however I am certain that would not be today - you would require at least a week to rest and rebuild your reserves, at which point Mr Malfoy and Miss Chang would no doubt be better and be able to take part" He paused "However it would be the result of that game that is recorded - this game, for all intents and purposes, would not have taken place"

"So the fact we caught the snitch would also be wiped from the record?" Blaise asked.

"That would be the case, Miss Zabini" Dumbledore nodded. Blaise turned to Sally-Anne.

"Can you live with a draw, Sally?" Blaise asked.

"I think I can" Sally-Anne nodded "And if that means we have to share The Cup with you come the end of May, then I think I can live with that as well" 

"A very grown up decision, Miss Perks" Dumbeldore smiled patronisingly at her "If you will excuse me, I will go and inform Mr Jordan - and your Heads of House - as to how this match has ended" He gave the girls a polite nod, then turned and walked back to the staff box and up the stairs.

"That was a good game" Sally-Anne said, turning to Blaise "Congratulations - your first snitch catch, even if you did have to share it" Blaise glanced up to where Dumbledore was now talking to Lee Jordan.

"Dumbledore was almost ordering me to take the win" She said in a near whisper "After the snitch glowed green, he was ready to hand the game to me without question. Almost as if he wanted Slytherin to win" Sally-Anne stared at her, but before either of them could speak again, the rest of the two teams swept in around them and started congratulating them.

xoxox

"He really wanted Blaise to take the match and the win" Harry asked as he, Sally-Anne, Neville, Luna and Hermione walked back towards the castle.

"From what Blaise suggested" Sally-Anne nodded "But the Slytherins and the rest of my team came over and she stopped talking" She paused "It's possible that Dumbledore didn't believe we both could have caught it at the same time" 

"It is.... very unlikely" Hermione said "And when the snitch lit up for Blaise, I can see why he might have thought that was that"

"I suppose" Sally-Anne shrugged.

"You caught the snitch" Harry said with a grin "On your first time out - do you know how rare that is?" 

"We've had two people do it in one day" Sally-Anne pointed out with a grin "How rare can it be?" Harry stuck his tongue out, making everyone laugh.

"Has a game ever ended in an absolute tie before?" Hermione asked.

"At Hogwarts? No" Luna shook her head "I think that...." She fell silent, stopping dead in the middle of the path. Harry looked over at Hermione, then he walked over and stood in front of Luna. Hermione turned to Neville and Sally-Anne.

"I was thinking about what we could do after dinner on Sunday...." She started, but realised neither of her friends was paying attention to her - they were both staring at Luna.

"Guys - can we move on?" Hermione said quietly "I'll explain everything, but I don't want to draw attention to her" Neville and Sally-Anne both nodded, and started walking back to the castle again. A moment later, Luna blinked a few times, then she looked at Harry.

"It's happened again" She said quietly "I don't know why I didn't see it - something happened that changed everything" She looked around "Harry - there's something in the castle. I can't see what it is, no matter how hard I look, but it's dangerous" She paused "Can you come with me?" 

"Of course" Harry nodded "What about the others?" 

"No - if it's just us, Dumbledore won't get all that suspicious, and won't let anyone blame us. Hermione, Neville and Sally-Anne are all expendable - we aren't" She blinked, then smiled slightly sheepishly "You know what I mean"

"I know" Harry nodded "So where are we going? 

xoxox

Five minutes later, she lead him into the courtyard under the clock tower. 

"I thought the tower was locked?" Harry said.

"It should be" Luna replied, but she walked up to the door and pushed it open. Peering inside, she looked at Harry "Can you provide some light?" He withdrew his wand from his sleeve.

"Lumos" He whispered, and the end of his wand lit up, casting an eerie light in the dark room. 

"Thanks" Luna said without turning round, then she took a few steps forward before stopping "He's here" Harry pointed his wand down, revealing the still body of a boy with blonde hair.

"Colin Creevey" Luna said quietly "He's in my charms class"

"Is he...."

"Petrified" Luna whispered "Whatever got Mrs Norris got him as well" She paused "And before you ask me, I have no idea what 'it' may be"

"What do we do with him?" Harry looked down at the prone form in front of them "You know someone will ask why we are here?" Luna looked back at him.

"Do you trust me?" She asked.

"Without question" 

"Then come with me" She turned and walked back towards the door. When they were outside again, she stopped.

"Are there any elves here?" She called out "I need an elf - a student is hurt and we need help" For a moment, nothing happened, but then three elves popped into existence.

"What is being wrong, little miss?" The centre elf asked.

"A student has been hurt in there" She pointed to the base of the clock tower "Can you find Madame Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout and bring them here?"

"Yes, little miss" All three elves vanished and Luna turned to Harry.

"We watched the game, then I told you I was missing my mother, so we came here to talk - away from the other students" She said quietly "I asked you to come with me because you are really the only one who can sympathise with me" She turned "When we came here, we found the door open and looked inside" She looked back at him "Make sure your vault is secure" He gave a single nod, then they both turned back as they saw McGonagall, Filius, Pomona, Pomfrey and Dumbledore walking towards them.

"Game on" Luna said under her breath.

xoxox

"It is my unfortunate duty to announce that - earlier today - one of your fellow students, Colin Creevey, was found petrified earlier today" Dumbledore addressed the evening meal in The Great Hall "He is resting comfortably in the infirmary, and I fully expect that - when the mandrakes are ready - he will be revived along with Mrs Norris" He smiled comfortingly "The staff and I are continuing to investigate the events surrounding this event, but I promise you - there is nothing to worry about"

xoxox

"Luna? Can I talk to you a minute?" Neville sat down next to Luna in the control room of The Fort.

"Always" Luna nodded, glancing at the cameras "What's up?"

xoxox

"I'm starting to feel guilty about Sally" Hermione said, leaning against the wall. Harry looked up from the map he was working on.

"What about her?" He asked.

xoxox

"We keep having to tell her stories" Neville said, playing with his fingers "I understand why we are doing it - that The Dreamland has to stay a secret and be protected, and that you and Harry need extra protection as well - but it is starting to make me feel a little uncomfortable"

xoxox

"I know - it's making me feel a little uncomfortable too" Harry admitted "But, like you said, there are reasons for keeping things a secret" Hermione sighed.

"Do you really believe we wouldn't be able to trust her?" She walked forward and put her hands on the table "She went along with the stories about Halloween and about today when Luna spaced" She paused "And I'm starting to worry she is going to start to get suspicious" 

xoxox

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't already" Luna sighed "It was partly why we brought Hermione in at the start of the summer" She took a deep breath "Can I ask you for an honest answer?"

"Of course" Neville nodded.

"Do you think we can trust her? Not just with The Dreamland and The Underland, but with the truth about Harry and me?" Luna gazed at him intently "And my gift?" Neville closed his eyes for a few minutes, then opened them again and gazed back at her.

"Yes"

xoxox

"Yes" Hermione nodded. Harry smiled, then stood up.

"Then lets go talk to Luna and Neville"

xoxox

"I think we can trust her too" Luna nodded "And while I can't see anything bad happening that could just mean I can't see anything bad happening" Neville smirked "But I think I am willing to take a risk - I am starting to have more faith in my visions, and I can't see anything going wrong with this choice"

"You're sure?" Luna looked over her shoulder as Harry and Hermione walked into the control room "You really think we can trust her?" Luna smiled, then looked at Harry.

"Remember when I told you that I would know when it was time?" She asked, and he nodded "Have you already worked out where the cloud is?" 

"Yes" Harry grinned "About a hundred miles north of here, a little to the east"

"Will we have to move here?" Neville asked "The Fort I mean?"

"No" Harry shook his head "It's not in the centre of our castles any more, but it's not so far out of the way that it would be annoying for any one of us to come here from home" 

"That's good" Neville smiled "So - now?" Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, then looked at Luna.

"Now" She said.

xoxox

She pushed herself back and forth on the swing, looking around the playground. She recognised it from her childhood - it had been her favourite place as a child, but then she had had a burst of accidental magic and her parents had worried about taking her back there. 

Not that it had mattered much - eighteen months after her burst of magic had repainted all of the slides purple (her favourite colour) - the park had been knocked down and replaced with a shopping centre.

But here, now, it was as if nothing had happened. The swings were shiny and new, the slides were not purple, the roundabout actually turned without juddering and thumping and bumping.

She continued to swing, pushing herself higher and higher, until the chain started to slacken at the end of each push, then - when she reached the top of the swing - she threw her self off, flying through the air.

And landed on.... on candyfloss? Blinking, she stood up and looked down..... and down..... and down..... and....

"You probably shouldn't do that" A soft, gentle voice came from behind her - a voice she recognised.

"Luna?" She turned round to find Luna standing behind her, smiling serenely "Where am I? And why do I appear to be standing on a cloud"

"You appear to be standing on a cloud because you are, in fact, standing on a cloud" Luna said with the same serene smile "As for where you are - well..... welcome to The Dreamland" Sally-Anne stared back at her.

"Huh?"


	6. I Hold With Those Who Favour Fire

Harry and Luna stood on the steps of Hogwarts, watching the carriages drive away towards the main gates.

"Two whole weeks" Harry said with a slight sigh "I like Christmas and all, but this is starting to get annoying"

"Could be worse" Luna pointed out "We could be going home as well" 

"True" Harry admitted, then laughed "Although, now that we know where we live, I am curious if your Uncle and my Aunt are going to allow us to see each other during the summer"

"I guess we'll see" Luna said with a shrug "I don't think my Uncle has ever kept me a prisoner - so to speak - I just never saw the need to go out of the house because there was no one in the neighbourhood to talk to" She smiled "Now that we both have a friend in Little Whining, maybe we'll get to play out together"

"That would be nice" Harry said with a smile, then he looked out across the grounds "Speaking of playing out, do you want to go for a walk? I think Carradoc may well be feeling frisky today - we can probably get him to play catch with us"

"Then lead on, MacDuff"

"Lead? Nay - I will go with thee, cheek by jowel!" 

"You know that's not the line, right?"

"I know, but I always liked Midsummer more than MacBeth - more fun, less dead bodies" 

"Depends on your point of view" Luna grinned at him "But - for now - we have a frisky squid waiting to play with us" 

"There's something you don't hear every day"

xoxox

"Pomona? To what do I owe the pleasure?" Filius asked as Pomona stood at the door to his classroom. 

"I understand that Mr Longbottom and Miss Perks went home today?" She walked in and leaned against one of the desks.

"Yes" Filius nodded "Madame Longbottom is hosting a family gathering, and Miss Perks always goes home for Christmas" He paused "Miss Granger also went home?"

"Yes" Pomona nodded "Which has left Mr Potter alone in the second year dorms"

"Miss Lovegood too" Filius sighed "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, but where are we going to find two dozen llamas and a white mouse at this time of day?" Pomona smirked, then rolled her eyes when Filius stared at her in utter confusion "Never mind. But yes - I am thinking that our illustrious Headmaster is going to use this opportunity to once again force Mr Potter to reconnect with the magical world via the medium of Ronald and possibly Ginevra Weasley" 

"Something, from your tone, that you disapprove of?" Filius raised an eyebrow.

"I think that Mr Potter has shown a complete lack of interest in getting to know Mr Weasley, his brothers or his sister" Pomona replied "If he was failing to make other friends, then I might be a little concerned. And I realise that while he spends more than a little time with a small group of friends, he has made friends with a lot of students in his house, and in yours" 

"I would say the same about Miss Lovegood - their friendship is good, but not overly obsessive, and I think Miss Lovegood making friends is probably a good thing" He smiled "And given her history, the fact that she is making any friends at all is a good thing" He took a long, slow breath "Anyway - I am fairly sure that we can't have Miss Lovegood move into Harry's dorm for the Christmas period. While I know they are friends - good friends at that - I suspect Minerva and Albus would have a fit if we suggested it"

"And while that does sound like a tempting reason to do it, I think that perhaps we might need a different solution" Pomona paused "Would you happen to know if any of the other first year Gryffindors are staying in the castle over Christmas? More specifically - first year girls?"

"I can check the list..... give me a moment" He riffled through the papers on his desk, then pulled out one piece of parchment.

"Here" He glanced through it, then looked up at her "There are only two first year girls staying here - Miss Lovegood, and Miss Weasley" Pomona looked at him thoughtfully, a smile spreading across her face.

"Filius - I think I have an idea" 

xoxox

"Filius, Pomona?" McGonagall looked at her two fellow Heads of House questioningly "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Pomona and I have a suggestion, and we thought we would ask you first, since it involves the Gryffindor dorms" Filius smiled. 

"Suggestion?" McGonagall asked "What is this suggestion?"

"We - both of us - have a situation that we believe you can help us with" Filius continued "We both have one younger student staying school over Christmas, and we believe they would benefit from being allowed to move into another dorm for the duration"

"In the way Mr Longbottom stayed in Hufflepuff last year?" McGonagall asked, and Pomona nodded.

"However the situation is a little more..... complicated" Pomona added "Mr Potter is staying over Christmas, but so is Miss Lovegood" McGonagall nodded in understanding.

"So where do I come in to this story?" She asked.

"Miss Lovegood used to live near The Weasley family, and I believe that - before she was sent to her Uncle's - she was friends with the youngest" Filius said "And while the friendship ended somewhat..... abruptly, I think that Mr Potter and Mr Weasley are not exactly enemies, even if they are not as close as they were"

"So you would want both students to temporarily move to Gryffindor? Just for the holiday period?" McGonagall asked.

"That was our plan, yes" Filius nodded, then he gave a wry smile "We thought it better than moving them into the Slytherin dorms"

"Quite" McGonagall agreed "I will have to discuss this with Albus, however I can not see any reason why not" She paused "If you would like to discuss it with Mr Potter and Miss Lovegood - if they would rather stay where they are, I will not bother Albus with this - then I will talk to Albus this evening"

"Thank you, Minerva" Pomona inclined her head "We'll go and talk to our students now"

xoxox

"Move in to Gryffindor?" Harry raised a curious eyebrow "Why would I want to do that?" He and Luna had been sat watching Carradoc jet back and forth across the lake when Filius and Pomona found them.

"Do you remember last Christmas, Mr Potter?" Filius asked.

"Yes, sir" He nodded.

"The reason that Mr Longbottom ended up staying in your dorm was because Professor Dumbledore thought you might be lonely, and wanted to move you into Gryffindor" Filius said, glancing at Pomona "When Professor Sprout learned of The Headmaster's plan, she thought that you might not be so amenable to the suggestion, and so came to me to ask if Mr Longbottom wanted to move instead"

"Oh" Harry paused "Okay" He glanced at Luna "You don't think he's going to suggest that you move in to the bed next to me, do you?"

"Probably not" Luna said with a dramatic sigh "If it helps, I am entirely amenable to such an idea" Harry blushed, while the two teachers laughed.

"As you say, Mr Potter - I am afraid that Miss Lovegood can not move into the second year boys' dorm, and for much the same reasons, you can't move into the bed next to hers either"

"Oh poop" Luna pouted, making Pomona laugh.

"However I think that if both of you were to move to Gryffindor - Mr Potter into the dorm with Mr Weasley, Mr Thomas and Mr Finnigan and Miss Lovegood into the dorm with Miss Weasley and Miss Mardaval" She said, still smiling "I realise it is not a perfect solution, Mr Potter, and that Mr Weasley's departure from Hufflepuff was somewhat acrimonious, however the alternative is two weeks alone in Hufflepuff dorm with no company"

"Is that an option?" Harry asked in a faux peppy manner, making Pomona smile.

"It is, however given The Headmaster's..... insistence on you moving last year, and his apparent annoyance when Mr Longbottom came to Hufflepuff instead, I would suggest that if you make it seem like your idea - or at least that you are open to it - then it might make life a little easier" She replied "So - what do you think?"

xoxox

"Mr Potter and Miss Lovegood have agreed to this?" Dumbledore gazed levelly at McGonagall.

"It would appear so, yes" McGonagall nodded "Apparently - since their friends are gone for two weeks, they agreed to Filius and Pomona's suggestion to temporarily relocate to Gryffindor" She paused "With your permission, of course"

"Permission I am happy to give" Dumbledore nodded "This will give Mr Potter - actually, it will give both Mr Potter and Miss Lovegood an opportunity to connect with the world that they have been out of for so long"

"An opportunity I am sure they will no doubt appreciate" McGonagall said in a dead-pan tone "I will ask the house-elves to move their belongings this afternoon - it will give them time to take any personal items themselves" 

"Thank you, Minerva" Dumbledore smiled.

"Headmaster"

xoxox

"You?" Hermione looked at Harry, then turned her gaze to Luna "And you?"

"It's not like we're going to be sleeping in the same dorm" Harry pointed out, blushing slightly "Luna is asleep in Elosie's bed, and I am sleeping in an empty bed that, if what Luna tells me is correct, was put there when Dumbledore thought he could manipulate me into going to Gryffindor"

"'If what Luna tells you is correct'?" Hermione resisted the urge to grin "Are you doubting our young seer?"

"Of course not" Harry shook his head, then looked over at Luna "You don't think I doubt you, right?"

"You know I'd know if you were starting to think I wouldn't know, you know" She replied, making Harry blink in confusion and Hermione burst into laughter "No - I know you better" She smiled "So - now that we've settled in to our new, albeit temporary, home - what shall we do now?"

"I think we should fly up to Castle Kandrakar" Hermione said "I know Sally's been here a few times, but this would be the first night she's had to come here from her home base" She paused, then shrugged "I guess I am just a little worried she'll get lost or something"

"You don't think Issi-Noho knows the way?" Harry asked "That she cant find her way here from anywhere in The Dreamland?"

"I suppose, but still - from what Luna's said, this place is infinite - it literally goes on forever in every direction and...." She gestured out of the window ".... you have to admit it does all kind of look alike out there"

"True" Luna nodded "But that is partly down to us" She closed her eyes, and suddenly the sky outside the window became a rainbow of multicoloured stripes. It stayed that way for a few minutes, then reverted to the way it had been before.

"I think - because I got here first - the world shaped itself to what I thought it would look like" Luna continued "And because I invited all of you in - one by one - you thought it was the way it should be, and so didn't change it" She shrugged "Or maybe this is what it looks like naturally and it takes an act of mental will to change it, and none of us can be bothered enough to do it" She shook her head "Anyway - Castle Kandrakar?"

xoxox

"We're lost, aren't we Issi?" Sally-Anne leaned down and stroked the fur of her black and white winged pony. Issi Noho gave a little whinny, then shook her head.

"We're not lost? Then where are we?" She prompted. Issi neighed, then suddenly shot forward, flapping her wings for all she was worth. Sally-Anne grabbed the reigns, wrapping them tight in her hands.

"Issi? What's wrong with you?" She gasped, trying to hang on.

"I think she's detected us" Sally-Anne looked up as Harry, Hermione and Luna flew up to her. Issi Noho slowed down, and came to a halt. 

"How did you find me?" She asked "And where am I?"

"Imagine a straight line between Kandrakar and The Nexus" Luna smiled "Then imagine you draw it past your castle and out into the middle of nowhere" 

"I didn't even get vaguely the right direction?" Sally-Anne sighed "Well that blows"

"That's what you get for forcing us to rename The Fort" Harry said, sticking his tongue out at her. Sally-Anne rolled her eyes.

"You know The Nexus is a much better name for the place that connects us all" She replied "Even if some of us can't find the buggering place"

"We have come with a solution to that" Hermione said, then she pulled out a small box "Happy birthday"

"It's not my birthday"

"Happy Easter!" Harry grinned.

"It's not...."

"Just take the box, Sally-Anne" Luna said with a grin. 

"Yes, m'am" Sally-Anne grinned, then reached out and took the box from Hermione. Turning it over in her hands, she examined it, then looked back up at her three friends "It's a box. I can't wait to tell my friends - they don't have a box like this"

"Actually we do" Harry said with a grin "Plus most of your friends know because we are here"

"I have other friends!" Sally-Anne folded her arms across her chest "Dozens of friends!"

"Yes, dear" Luna smiled "The box is the invention of the redoubtable Miss Granger - it is essentially The Dreamland's version of a GPS"

"What's a GPS?" Sally-Anne asked, glancing at the box.

"It stands for Graph your Position Spell" Hermione said "If you tell it where you want to go, it will show a magical guide path in the air" She smiled "It can only show places that are already known - that is, those we've found - and you can't use it to find people, just places"

"Okay" Sally-Anne glanced at the box "Show me how to get to The Nexus" The box gave a single ping, then a think yellow line appeared in front of her, pointing off into the distance "Impressive" She looked over at her friends "Can you see it?"

"You have to pick who to show it to" Hermione explained "It means you can sneak off on your own if you want"

"Show everyone?" Sally-Anne said, then Hermione nodded as the line faded into view for everyone else.

"This is fairly impressive" Sally-Anne smiled "And should save getting lost in the future" She looked along the line "So - The Nexus?"

xoxox

"Good morning, Luna" 

"Good morning, Ginny" Luna smiled across the dorm "Did you sleep well?" 

"Not really, no" Ginny shook her head "I had some really strange dreams"

"Anything in particular?" Luna asked, throwing back her covers and climbing out of bed. Ginny blinked a few times, then shook her head.

"Just strange" She said "So - any plans for today?" 

"I think Harry and I are going to go for a walk, then maybe do some studying" Luna said "He's helping me with some of my charms homework"

"The essay from Professor Flitwick?" Ginny asked interestedly. 

"Yes" Luna nodded, picking up her toiletry bag.

"Do you think he'll be able to help me as well?" Ginny asked quietly. Luna looked across the dorms, then smiled.

"I can't see why not"

xoxox

"Ginny?" Harry looked at Luna thoughtfully "I suppose so. I mean - one more person here or there isn't going to make much difference" Luna smirked.

"Are you sure you couldn't be less enthusiastic?" Luna asked.

"I could try, if you want" Harry paused, then dropped his head, started slouching and sighed "Ginny? I suppose so" Luna laughed.

"What's wrong with Ginny?" She asked as they continued to walk down towards the lake.

"Oh - probably nothing" Harry shrugged "I was just hoping we could use some of the homework time to talk about the further exploration of the caves under Nargathrond - maybe have a bit of a plan before we all go to The Underland tonight" 

"Ah" Luna nodded "Do you want me to get rid of her? Or put her off?" Harry closed his eyes for a moment, then shrugged.

"Nah" He shook his head "The three of us can meet for lunch, then we can study in The Great Hall - don't want to clutter up the common room with our studying and all" Luna grinned.

"So I see you've been talking to Ron" She grinned.

xoxox

"Ohhhhh" Ginny let out a long slow breath "I think I get it now" She glanced down at the parchment again "The levitation charm can only be used to affect objects. There is a different charm for levitating people"

"Yes" Harry nodded "However....." Ginny stared at the parchment, then looked up at Harry.

"However...... what?"

"There are two levitation charms, one which should only be used on objects and one that should only be used on people" Harry said "However - if push comes to shove - you can use them the other way round"

"You can?" Ginny frowned "Then why have two?"

"Why do you think?" Harry asked, leaning forward. Luna looked up from the essay she was writing.

"It's dangerous?" Ginny asked.

"Why would you think it would be dangerous?" Harry watched her.

"Oh......" She looked up at him, smiling in understanding "The object levitation charm is somewhat..... coarse. It doesn't allow for fine control. And it also takes more power but less concentration"

"And?"

"When you are levitating an object, you don't need to worry about fine control" She smiled "But if you are levitating a person you need to concentrate a great deal more - if you make a mistake or do it wrong, you could really hurt somebody"

"Well done" Harry smiled "So you think you can complete the essay that Professor Flitwick wants?"

"I think so" Ginny nodded "Would you......"

"Would I what?" Harry asked in a kindly manner.

"Would you look over it after I finish it? And give me some pointers?" She asked hopefully. 

"Of course" He nodded, then looked at Luna "How are you doing, Luna?"

"I think I've got the idea about the levitation charms" She said "But if you could take me through the difference between the binding charms and the rope charms, I would love you forever"

"Consider it done" Harry smiled.

xoxox

Dumbledore walked through The Entrance Hall, then stopped when he caught sight of three people sat at the end of The Hufflepuff table. 

"Mr Potter and Miss Weasley" He said to himself, a slight smile coming across his face "Perhaps I will talk to her mother about Easter" 

xoxox

"I think that's enough for one day" Luna said, closing her books and putting her pen down "We have the whole of the holidays to do this - we don't need to do it all at once" 

"True" Harry gave a half-nod, then started packing his books away as well.

"So what would you like to do now?" Ginny asked, slipping her parchments in to her bag. Harry and Luna exchanged glances then looked back at Ginny.

"The sunset over the lake looks pretty at this time of night" Luna said "Would you like to come for a walk with us?"

"Harry and.... you?" Ginny asked, and Harry thought he saw the hint of a frown on her brow, but it vanished before he could be certain.

"A walk with my friends" Harry nodded "We can even introduce you to Carradoc"

"Carradoc?" Ginny asked curiously. 

xoxox

"Carradoc" Harry gestured out over the lake, where the giant squid was jetting back and forth again "Guardian of the lake and former guardian of The Nightingale's Perch" Ginny watched the squid for a few moments, then turned back to Harry.

"Huh?" 

"Long story" Harry smiled "The short version is this used to be the home of a pirate, but The Founders took over the castle after he died and turned it into a school" 

"They kept Carradoc on" Luna continued "At first they were worried some of Nightingale's men might try to gain some kind of revenge, and having a giant squid guarding the oceans seemed a good idea, but after it became apparent that the whole of Nightingale's empire was wiped out when Nightingale died, they asked Carradoc to stay because they had got used to him" 

"Wow" Ginny watched as the squid gently swam up to the shore, stopping a few yards away. 

"I think he wants to play" Luna grinned, then she picked up three rocks and held them out to Harry "Can you?"

"By your command" He pulled out his wand and transfigured the rocks into three large quaffles. Luna gave him a thank you smile, then handed one to Ginny.

"He likes to play catch" Luna explained, then she span and threw the ball towards the squid. He caught it in a tentacle, then threw it back to Luna.

"Cool" Ginny smiled "Can we...."

"We've had five balls on the go at once" Harry said, joining Luna in throwing the quaffle back and forth. Ginny watched for a few minutes, then she started throwing her quaffle as well.

"This is kind of fun" She said after a few exchanges "How often do you do this?"

"Maybe a few times a week" Luna took a few steps back, forcing the squid to throw further and further "It's relaxing" She took another step back "My record is around 5 yards. After that, the wind tends to interfere with the flight of the quaffle" Ginny caught her quaffle, then threw it and started walking backwards. 

"The real challenge comes when you try more than one at once" Harry said. He caught the ball, then he picked up another rock and transformed it "Carradoc has slightly more of an advantage than we do - we only have two arms, and he has a squillion" He threw his first quaffle, then - just before Carradoc caught it - he threw the next one. Ginny watched with growing awe as Harry continued to juggle the quaffles with the squid.

"Want to try another?" She asked.

"Bring it on" Harry grinned, then caught the quaffle she threw before passing it up to the squid.

"Have you ever thought of trying out for quidditch?" She asked, watching as he managed to keep all three quaffles going at once.

"I thought about it, but Cedric and Teresa have the team they want" He paused "I know that after what happened to Cho and Malfoy we should be thinking about a reserve, but Cedric and Terri seem happy enough"

"You could try out for Gryffindor" Ginny suggested. Harry turned to look at her, then winced as Carradoc bounced a quaffle off his head. He caught the next one, then batted the third and final one away. Dropping the quaffle he was holding, he looked back at Ginny.

"You think I could play for Gryffindor?" He asked curiously "Don't the House rules pretty much prevent that?"

"I thought you might...." Ginny started, then - at the expressions on both Harry and Luna's faces - trailed off "Sorry - sorry" Before they could reply, she turned and ran off towards the castle. 

xoxox

That evening, the five friends were sat in the control room of The Nexus.

"Do you think Ron put her up to it?" Neville asked, staring idly at the monitors that lined the far wall.

"Why would he do that?" Hermione said. She was tinkering with her GPS box "He can't still think he has a chance to be Harry's bestest friend, can he?"

"Maybe" Sally-Anne shrugged "You're spending Christmas in Gryffindor - maybe he thinks that Ginny is a way back in and this is a good time to try it?" 

"Maybe they are both trying to improve the station of The Weasleys by making friends with you" Neville suggested calmly.

"Their station?" Hermione looked at him, and he blushed.

"This isn't something that is usually discussed" He said after a few minutes, looking slightly uncomfortable "You know the basic divisions of the magical world?"

"Pure bloods, half bloods, muggle born" Hermione nodded.

"The Weasleys are one of the oldest pure blood families - their lineage can be traced back as far as the Malfoys, Lovegoods, Parkinsons, Longbottoms, Potters and other similar families" Neville continued "However they have always been a little.... unusual compared to most other pure blood families"

"Unusual how?" Harry asked.

"I'm an only child" Neville said "So's Sally, so's Luna. Draco, Pansy, Theodore, Hannah, Susan - almost every pure blood at Hogwarts is an only child. The Patils are an exception because they are twins, but they are both the same age"

"The Weasleys have a huge family" Hermione said.

"Right back through their line - Molly had two brothers, Arthur had three sisters, and so on and so on" Neville paused "Why do you think most of the major lines only had one children?" Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, while Sally-Anne and Luna both smiled.

"I have no clue" Hermione admitted.

"Money" Sally-Anne said, causing Harry and Hermione to turn to stare at her "All pure blood families have their fortunes - the fortunes vary from one family to another, but they each have their own source of money" She paused "If you only have one heir, you can keep the money in the family when you die. From Draco, to Lucius, to Abraxas, to Mortalus back to the founder of the Malofy line - Dominus - the money has been passed down from father to son and so it has stayed in the family"

"And with the marriages and so forth, their fortune has increased" Luna interjected.

"The same is true of all the other families - even yours, Harry" Neville said "The Potter family was fairly wealthy at the time your parents......" He trailed off, looking apologetic "Sorry"

"No worries" Harry waved his hand "The Dursley's don't seem to know about it"

"Wizarding fortune" Luna smiled "Even if they knew, they wouldn't be able to touch it, let alone spend it"

"Good to know" Harry smiled a wry smile "So if The Weasley family is historically huge, the fortune has been broken up and spread out?" 

"Yes" Neville nodded "And because they are - for want of a better phrase - relatively poor, the rest of the pure blood community has little or no respect for them" 

"I thought that was because of the fact they sided with Dumbledore during Voldemort's rise?" Hermione frowned "At least that's the idea I got from Malfoy and the others" She paused "The phrases 'muggle loving fools' and 'blood traitors' was bandied about"

"That didn't help matters, but the truth is it has been a long, long while since The Weasleys held any kind of position in our world" Neville said, then he blushed "I know how that sounds, but it's the truth"

"So if they were to befriend Harry, they might gain more respect?" Hermione frowned "That's....."

"Creepy as hell" Harry suggested, making the others laugh.

"I don't think they doing it in a Machiavellian way" Neville explained "I'm not close friends with them, but Molly strikes me as the motherly type - she might think that - given you have been alone all your life, you might be wanting for friendship. It is entirely possible she just suggested to Ron and Ginny, and maybe the twins, that they should make friends with you" 

"I suppose" Harry nodded "Can you think of any polite way I can tell them I am not that interested?" He looked at the other four "I mean - I am happy making friends, but I am not going to go overboard"

"You could start wearing more black and yellow" Luna suggested with a grin "That would probably give them the idea that you want to stay in Hufflepuff, if nothing else"

"I will order a new wardrobe tomorrow" Harry rolled his eyes, making Luna grin.

"In the meantime, I have a new idea for out next quest" Luna said, standing up. She walked over to the bank of cameras and flicked a few buttons "There are some caves over by the jungle we discovered. They seem to run for around twenty miles north to south and they look kind of interesting"

"Interesting?" Hermione asked "Interesting as in 'there are some nice natural features' or interesting as in 'oh god, oh god, we're all going to die'?" Luna clasped her hands to her chest, giving a fake gasp of surprise.

"Do you not trust me, Miss Granger?" She exclaimed.

xoxox

"Good morning Ginny" Harry smiled as he and Luna sat down at the end of The Gryffindor table "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you Harry" She smiled back "How about you?"

"Strange dreams" Harry admitted "Something about a monster trying to cover me all over with red paint. I tried running away and fleeing, but it kept coming after me" He paused "Happily, a black hole swallowed it up, making it vanish completely" He paused "Not an actual black hole - just a big hole in the ground"

"What's a black hole?" Ginny asked.

"A star that has burned out and collapsed, forming such a dense, compacted mass in space that it sucks in everything from the surrounding area" Luna said quietly "Including light - it is completely dark and black and nothing escapes it, hence the name"

"Stars can burn out?" Ginny looked at Harry, slightly horrified.

"All things die, Ginny" Harry replied quietly "Even stars"

xoxox

"I feel like The Ride of The Valkyries should be playing" Hermione said as the five of them flew down towards their base in The Underland.

"Once we cross the cloud boundary we have no power any more" Luna pointed out "If you want, we can fly back up and I can make the sky fill with music"

"That wouldn't help with the going to Nargathrond part of the plan" Hermione said with a sigh "Maybe on the way back up" 

"So we go on?" 

"We go on"

xoxox

"The caves are about twenty miles east of here" Luna pointed to the map they had been creating of The Underland "We could try flying there, but I am not sure if there is anywhere to tie up the steeds" 

"We really need to create some motorbikes down here" Harry said, glancing at the map "Or possibly a tank of some sort"

"Could we fix up some kind of transport.... thing?" Hermione asked. She waved at the roof "We created Galadriel and the others, and they can exist down here. We also brought an arsenal of weapons down here so that we could use them during our explorations" She looked at the others "Could we create some kind of.... Tardis type thing that we could put things in to bring them down?"

"Tardis?" Neville asked.

"A magic box that is infinitely large inside" Hermione said "We could imagine a tank, or a battle-bus, then bring it down here"

"We can try - but whatever we create, we'd need to make it light enough so our mounts can carry it" Luna said "And before you ask - no aircraft"

"Darn" Hermione clicked her fingers "I take it there's a reason why not?"

"Fuel" Harry said "Hugsy, Nirnaeth and the others are all living creatures, so they live off food" He looked over at Luna for confirmation "Anything mechanical would require a constant supply of fuel - if it ran out of it down here, it would be stuck"

"I guess that makes sense" Hermione sighed "So how are we going to get to the caves?"

"I think we're going to have to take our faithful steeds, and trust to luck that they'll stay while we are investigating the caves" Sally-Anne glanced at the map "Does anyone think that they won't?"

"They won't abandon us" Harry said flatly "I honestly thnk they would do anything to protect us"

"Ditto" Neville added, and Hermione nodded.

"Then it's agreed" Luna smiled "Everyone pick your weapons, then - we ride!"

xoxox

Half an hour later, the five steeds alighted by the caves, and their five riders dismounted and walked up to the entrance. 

"Ready?" Harry asked, drawing his sword from the scabbard on his back.

"Do we have a choice?" Sally-Anne replied.

"You always have a choice" Luna replied "Either you come with us into the cave, or you wait out here. Alone. On the edge of nowhere. Where there might be monsters or creatures to come and eat you" Sally-Anne stared at her, then grinned.

"You could have just said no" She said with a laugh.

"What fun would that be?" Luna replied. 

"Neville - take point. Hermione - on the rear" Harry said "Sally - left, I'll take right and Luna can be our eyes and ears"

"Yes, boss" Luna nodded.

"Okay - lets go"

xoxox

The girl watched as the five students went into the entrance of the cave.

"Oh dear - this won't end well" 

After what seemed like an eternity's indecision, she set off after them.

xoxox

"Luna......" Harry started.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Luna said quietly.

"Pretty much" Harry nodded "I don't think that these caves are going to join up with Nargathrond, and I think if we don't stop and try to get our bearings, we are not going to find our way back"

"I suppose" Luna sighed, then looked around "Hermione?"

"Yes, boss?"

"I don't suppose the GPSes work down here, do they?"

"Sadly no" Hermione shook her head "And even if they did work, it would just point us in the direction of the hospital, and unless we learn how to walk through solid rock, it wouldn't help a great deal"

"Darn" Luna clicked her fingers "So - how do we find our way out?" She looked around, then realised Sally-Anne and Neville weren't paying any attention "Guys?"

"We need to go" Neville said in a quiet whisper.

"We do?" Hermione asked. 

"Yes" Neville nodded "Now"

"Why? Harry asked.

"Because I am pretty sure that there are around two dozen spiders, the smallest of which is the size of a pony, are coming towards us" They all turned to look where he was pointing, and saw the same shadows moving in the dark as he had seen.

"Okay" Luna nodded "Lets go"

xoxox

Standing in a natural alcove, the girl heard the sounds of the spider horde starting to move.

"What did they think would happen?" She said to herself, then she reached over her shoulder and unstrapped a long metal cylinder from her back.

xoxox

"Left" Luna shouted as they ran through the caves "Then two rights and a left"

"You sure?" Harry asked.

"YES!"

xoxox

She heard the footsteps approaching, and smiled.

"Show time" 

xoxox

"What next?" Hermione asked. 

"DUCK!" A voice that none of them had heard before bellowed through the cave, and Luna threw herself to the floor. Harry and Hermione followed suit a second later, with Neville and Sally-Anne dropping a moment after that. 

"TASTE YOUR OWN DEATH - YOU HELL SPAWNED HAGS!" The voice bellowed again, then - to Luna's surprise - a jet of flame shot over their heads, setting the first few spiders on fire.

"RUN! NOW!" The voice commanded, and the five friends jumped to their feet and shot past her, running down the cave passage and out into the open. 

"BURN! BURN YOU MINIONS OF DARKNESS!" The voice continued, and watching from their position outside, they could see the flames dancing through the cave. As they continued to stare in at the darkness, they saw the jet of fire gradually retreating, coming closer and closer.

As it reached the entrance, it shut off, though the inside of the caves continued to burn. 

They watched the entrance for a few moments longer, then a figure - cloaked in perfect black and wearing a hood over her face - emerged. 

"Don't do that again" She said "I may not be here to rescue you next time" Before any of them could reply, the girl ran off down the side of the cave wall, and was soon out of sight.

Luna looked at the others, then - with a final glance at the cave - turned and headed in the direction of their steeds.

xoxox

"So who was that?" Harry and Luna walked down to breakfast the next morning "Was it even a real person?"

"I think it was" Luna nodded "I mean - I haven't seen anything about this - I saw us exploring the caves and encountering the spider horde, but I saw us managing to escape and fight them off when we encountered another horde" She paused "Remember the attack rabbits?"

"How will I ever forget?" Harry rolled his eyes "That was an interesting holiday"

"Well - from what I saw - they came looking for us, wanting revenge, and a huge battle ensued between the rabbits and the spiders" She paused "It was kind of fun to watch - all pincers and squeaking and fur flying" 

"But none of that happened" Harry replied "Because this person interrupted it - and you didn't see it coming" Luna frowned.

"I don't understand how it can happen" She said, pouting slightly "I know I am limited, but I can't remember the last time I was flat out wrong" 

"Maybe The Dreamland doesn't work like the real world?" Harry suggested "Because it's not real?"

"It's possible, I suppose" Luna shrugged, then they both stopped as they heard raised voices coming from The Entrance Hall. 

"You lost the game, you retarded flobberworm!" 

"Malfoy" Luna whispered, and Harry nodded.

"You handed the game to Ravenclaw - a victory for The Silver and Green and you let it go out of what? Fair play? Don't you have any sense of House Pride? Or ambition?" There was a pause "Oh don't tell me..... Theo was right? You're hot for the little bitch" 

*CRACK*

Harry and Luna looked at each other in surprise as the sound of the slap reverberated through The Entrance Hall.

"Run back to your little minions Malfoy, and don't ever talk to me again" The female voice was quiet, but firm "If you even look at me again, I can promise you you will live to regret it" 

"Are you threatening me, you black bitch?" Malfoy said, voice darkening. 

"Yes - I am glad you understand me" The voice replied "Now run away and go back to your playgroup" As the voice finished speaking, Harry and Luna heard footsteps coming towards them. Luna pushed him into an alcove, and they watched as a young, black girl stalked by, a look of fury on her face.

"That was her" Harry asked, although it wasn't really a question.

"That was her" Luna nodded "But what was she doing in The Underland?"


	7. Underland & Overland

Sally-Anne found herself lying on her bed in Castle Kandrakar, gazing up at the ceiling above her.

"I really need to make that more pretty" She said to herself "Maybe a picture of some dolphins or unicorns" She stared at the ceiling for a little longer, then rolled out of her bed and stood up. 

"So what should I wear today....." She started, then realised that - as soon as she had thought of an outfit, she had found herself dressed in it.

"Well that's helpful" She smiled, then clicked her fingers and a Santa hat appeared on her head "Time to spread some comfort and joy!" She reached down and picked up her GPS, then bounded towards the door.

xoxox

Half an hour later, she flew Issi Noho down towards The Nexus, landing lightly on the roof. 

Dismounting, she gave her horse a hug, then turned and walked to the roof of the trapdoor.

She descended the stairs, then walked along the corridor to the control room, only to stop when she heard voices coming from inside.

"So you think we should talk to her?" Luna asked. Sally-Anne could almost picture her friend looking at the others, a quizzical expression on her face.

"I think so" Harry replied "If what you say about here and there is true, I think we might be doing her a favour"

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked "I mean - does she know we know?" 

"Probably not" Luna admitted "And is it really any of our business? If she does love her, surely that's a matter for her - not all of us" Sally-Anne blinked, then she strode forward and pushed the door aside.

"If you are all quiet done talking about me, perhaps you would explain what this is all about?" She asked, glaring at all of them. 

"Sally?" Harry stared at her for a moment, then blinked "Oh - no, Sal - we weren't talking about you. We were talking about......" He trailed off, looking at Luna. 

"Why did you think we were talking about you?" Neville asked. Sally-Anne looked back at Harry, who gave a single shake of his head.

"Never mind" Sally-Anne said "What's going on?"

"It's a bit of a long story" Luna said.

"I have all day" Sally-Anne grinned "Night. Sorry"

"Then have a seat, and I will start on top of a hill in Austria" Luna gestured to the seat next to Neville. Sally-Anne walked over and sat down, then turned to face her.

"Are you sitting comfortably?" Luna asked "Then I'll begin" She paused, then took a deep breath.

"I first came into The Dreamland just after my father was taken away" She started "I mean - I have been dreaming all my life, but after Dumbledore took my father away from me, and locked me up with the man who pretends to be my uncle, I realised that this place was real, so to speak"

_Luna appears, standing on a cloud. She looks around, then suddenly a polar bear appears in front of her._

_"Well - that's something you don't see every day" She comments, staring down at the bright white bear that was now prowling back and forth, occasionally glancing back at her._

_"Are you going to attack me, Miss Bear?" Luna asks, and the bear looks up at her, then shakes her head._

_"That's good of you" Luna smiles "So why are you here?"_

"I looked around for a bit longer" Luna continued "Then I woke up and found myself back in my bedroom - my fake bedroom" She paused "The following night, I closed my eyes and was thinking of the area I had been in, and when I fell asleep, I found myself back there"

"Was the bear still there?" Hermione asked.

"No" Luna said with a sad sigh "I had wished it into being, but I hadn't given it a persistent life - like Nirnaeth and Hugsy - so it vanished when I woke up" She paused "I never did find out her name" She stayed silent for a few moments, then shook her head.

"Over the next few months, I learned more about the world I had found, and I played with it - creating numerous castles and houses and so on. I learned more about how to make things last and how to make transient things" She paused "I even recreated a picture-perfect-carbon-copy of my home, but it was far too painful to look at it, night after night"

_She stands on the edge of a fluffy cloud, staring across the short gap to where The Rookery stands on the opposite cloud._

_"Mother, Father" She said, then she closes her eyes "I'm going to get you back, Father - I am going to find a way" She opens her eyes again then stares across at her old house._

_"While I love, I must insist, the cloud below be as thin as mist" For a second, nothing happens, then the cloud beneath The Rookery vanishes and the model of her old home drops into the world below._

"That was that?" Harry asked "One of the first times we went exploring, we found the crushed ruins of an old house - I thought it was just part of The Underland scenery and didn't give it much thought"

"I had almost forgotten I'd built it" Luna admitted "But yes - I think that was it. The ruins of my old house, recreated in The Underland" 

"Wow" Harry said softly.

"Three nights before his cousin's birthday party, I started having dreams about Harry coming into my world" She smiled "I knew who he was, of course - even in my limited world, I had heard about The Boy Who Lived" She paused "Of course, if I had known he was living just across the road from me, I might have tried to bring him into my world a great deal earlier" 

"You would?" Harry asked.

"In a heartbeat" Luna smiled "But maybe things happened the way they did for a reason - maybe it is the way the universe is meant to be" 

_Luna looks out of the window of the tallest turret in her castle, and sees a figure stood on the cloud outside the walls._

_"Mirror mirror, on the wall, magnify the image of that person so small" She calls out, and suddenly the tiny figure flies up and hovers outside her window._

_"Are you coming here?" She asks, and the figure nods._

_"Will you be my friend?" She asks again, and the figure nods a second time._

_"Are you him? The Boy Who Lived?" A third nod._

_"When?" To her great surprise, the figure gave a mysterious smile, then - like The Cheshire Cat - fades away, until the smile was the only thing that was left._

_Luna continues to gaze out of the window, until she feels herself vanishing as she begins to wake up._

"The thing is, while I spent what seems like an eternity in The Dreamland, I never really gave that much thought to what was below it" Luna said after a few minutes "I just assumed it was like...... like the background you see in cartoons" 

"Huh?" Neville looked at her in confusion.

"Cartoons are like wizarding pictures" Harry said "Except they are hand drawn by artists" He smiled at Luna "Because you want to watch what is going on at the front, the backgrounds tend to be still life pictures with very little detail"

"And - in the early days - they tended to use the same picture over and over again" Luna added "For street scenes or forests or the like - it saved on drawing multiple pictures when - honestly - most forests look much the same from one bit to the next" She paused "Anyway - I mostly assumed that the land below the clouds was just decoration - that it wasn't real or anything you could go to" She looked over at Hermione.

"It wasn't until Hermione told me about the temple - a temple that I was pretty sure I had seen below the clouds" Luna smiled "So we went down to explore, riding our mounts and started to look around" She closed her eyes, and her smile faded. 

"But Hermione's story also prompted something else in my head" She sighed "Have you ever wondered why both worlds exist? Why we have a Dreamland and an Underland?" The others all gazed back at her, but none of them responded.

"The Dreamland is very well named" Luna said after a few minutes "This is a place where all our dreams come true - or at least, all our dreams can come true" She smiled "We can create castles and houses, CCTV systems and GPS devices" She paused "We can also create faithful steeds and terrible monsters - pretty much anything you can dream or imagine can come true here" 

"Is that why we're all powerful?" Sally-Anne asked.

"I think so, yes" Luna nodded "After all - who hasn't dreamed about being a superhero or one of The Founders or...."

"Or The Boy Who Lived?" Harry asked wryly, making Luna laugh. 

"Never dreamed I was The BOY Who Lived" She replied, still smiling "But I dreamed about vanquishing Voldemort and getting my father released a lot - must have played it out a dozen or so times in my various castles" She shook her head "But the powers, the creations, the creatures and the monsters only exist here - in our dreams. We can't bring them out into the real world, and we can't make recreate them in the real world either" 

"But they do persist" Hermione said thoughtfully "Dreams don't do that" She looked over at Luna "I mean - I had recurring dreams when I was a kid, but it was literally the same dream over and over again"

"A good dream?" Neville asked.

"When are recurring dreams ever good?" Hermione rolled her eyes "You've probably never read non-magical children's books, I take it?"

"Not really" Neville and Sally-Anne shook their heads.

"Most of the books I read as a child were about evil witches who wanted to kill and hurt people" Hermione said quietly, her mind lost in a memory "And by the time I reached the first year of juniors, I'd had more than a few bursts of accidental magic" She closed her eyes, dropping her head "I didn't know what they were, but the idea that I was possibly an evil witch......." She shook her head, then opened her eyes "More than a few dreams ran along that theme"

"Where did these nightmares take place?" Luna asked. Hermione looked at her in confusion.

"Mostly my house, or school" She said after a few moments "Except not really - they were more..... real versions, if you get what I mean" The others nodded.

"I'll explain why in a second" Luna smiled "But I think the reason that we can make things persist up here is because we have taken control. There are muggle theories about lucid dreaming - where you can control the flow of your dream and make it go the way you want - and it is kind of like that, only far more powerful" She waved her hand to encompass the whole of The Dreamland "We know where we are, and we know, more or less, how to control it" She paused "Are you all with me so far?"

"Yes, Luna" They all replied in unison, making her smile.

"Good - because this is where I am starting to employ more guess work and supposition" Luna paused, then looked at Sally-Anne, who had raised her hand "You don't have to raise your hand, Sally"

"Force of habit" Sally-Anne blushed "Is this where you get to the girl you were discussing?"

"Sort of" Luna nodded "But I just need to cover one other thing first, so that you - all of you - get a complete picture of what I think the problem is" They all nodded again, so she continued.

"Harry and Sally are the only two to come to The Dreamland directly, without visiting The Underland" She said "Because we - or rather, I - invited them in and brought them to a specific place" She paused "Hermione - when you first arrived, you arrived in a temple type place?"

"Yes" Hermione nodded "Although the start of it was more like a video game than a proper temple - lots of jumping between platforms and climbing ladders and solving puzzles and so forth" She paused "Why?"

"Because I am pretty sure the temple is somewhere in The Underland almost directly below where Castle Dreadnought is" Luna smiled "Without wishing to pry too much, what were you thinking of when you found yourself in the temple for the first time?" Hermione closed her eyes, then opened them and looked over at Harry.

"Honestly? I was thinking that Harry was lying to me, and I was a little upset and worried about why he was doing it" She said. Harry gave her an apologetic shrug. 

"Neville? What about you?" Luna asked.

"I guess I was worried about what you were doing over the summer - if, after the thing with The Stone, you would be in any danger" He paused "The first time I dreamed of the greenhouses was after I got home, and started thinking about you three all alone"

"And were the greenhouses usual?" Luna asked "I mean - were there any dangerous plants that you wouldn't usually have?"

"There were a few fully grown sunflowers - they've always worried me a little" He paused "And the Triffids were plants that most Herbologists stay away from, for obvious reasons"

"So it's safe to say that your experiences in The Underland were not..... pleasant? Or at least, not as pleasant as the time in The Dreamland?" Hermione and Neville exchanged glances, then they both nodded.

"And you think you know why?" Hermione asked.

"I think the upper world - the world above the clouds - is where we dream. Where we fantasise and plan our future, and review the goodness of the world" Luna paused "But I think the lower world - the world below the clouds - is the world of nightmares" Luna stood up and started pacing back and forth "A world where we are powerless against the monsters, where creatures and demons roam the dark and we have to fight against them" She paused, then sighed "A world where our anxieties, worries and fears come to life and try to eat our faces" 

"It does kind of make sense" Harry nodded slowly "The Underland is not a place you want to live in"

"Which brings me back to where we started" Luna looked over at Sally-Anne "The girl who saved us from the spiders? We know who she is"

"Okay" Sally-Anne nodded "Who is she?"

"It's Blaise" Harry said "The girl who you caught the snitch with" 

"Oh" Sally-Anne smiled, then looked at them "So what's the problem?"

"When I call myself The Regent of The Dreamland, I am not overstating it" Luna said with a slight smile "While I don't pay a lot of attention to your comings and goings, I do know when you enter and leave, assuming I am here at the time. And I think, if I focus closely enough, I can work out where each of you is at any given time" 

"And you've never noticed Blaise here?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Pretty much" Luna nodded "Which means she's only ever been in The Underland"

"Okay" Hermione nodded.

"Like me and Hermione?" Neville asked.

"No" Luna shook her head "You are missing something important in all this" 

"Oh my god" Harry exclaimed, understanding shining in his face. Luna turned to look at him. 

"Would you care to share with the class?" She asked, eyes bright.

"When we first went down to The Underland, we nearly got eaten by a horde of spiders because we had no powers and no magic" Harry said "Even now we tend to create weapons in The Dreamland and take them down to Nargathrond and The Underland" He paused, then looked at Luna "She had a flame thrower, and what looked like a fairly impressive multi-arrow longbow" 

"If she has learned how to master fire, and build weapons of her own" Luna said calmly "Then she must have been in The Underland for a while - I'd say at least six months, if not longer" She looked at the others "We've been down there three or four times, with weapons we created from our imaginations. She has been in that hell for more than SIX MONTHS with nothing but her wits and her skills" 

"We have to save her" Sally-Anne said firmly "We have to find her, and bring her back up here"

"Yes" Luna nodded "I know that there are problems with this - she is the child of two Death Eaters, she is a Slytherin, she is possibly friends with Malfoy and the other thugs and for all I know she doesn't like any of us" She paused "But I would not abandon my worst enemy to The Underland, and I am not going to leave her there if there is anything I can do about it" She looked at each of the others in turn "However - if anyone truly objects to me bringing her up here, speak now" 

"We save her" Hermione said.

"Ditto" Neville added.

"What else can we do?" Sally-Anne asked. Luna looked over at Harry.

"You know where I stand" He said.

"Okay - then Harry and I will try to talk to her tomorrow at school, and tomorrow night we go down to save her" Luna paused "Or at least we try" Everyone nodded "Okay then" She paused, then looked over at Sally-Anne "Can I talk to you a moment?"

xoxox

"What's up?" Sally-Anne asked as she and Luna walked through into one of the storage rooms in The Nexus.

"I just wanted to apologise about something" Luna said, checking the door was closed behind them "When you first arrived, you thought we were talking about you" Sally-Anne blushed.

"Sorry about that - I shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion" She admitted. Luna waved her off.

"That's not what I wanted to talk about" She said quietly "At least not directly" She paused "I know why you thought we were talking about you - the comment about 'if she does love her' - you thought that was about you?"

"Yes..... wait" Sally-Anne stared at her, narrowing her brow "How did you know? About me I mean? Did Harry tell you?" 

"No - he kept his promise" Luna replied calmly "But you know I see the future......"

"You saw the conversation we had on the way back from The Astronomy Tower" Sally-Anne nodded understandingly "Harry didn't tell you?"

"He didn't have to" Luna lowered her voice "And I promise that - unless they are exceptionally intuitive and insightful - I don't see Neville or Hermione working it out any time soon"

"Okay" Sally-Anne nodded, then blushed "It's not that I'm ashamed or anything"

"I know" Luna said "The magical world is stuck in the sixth century, and even the muggle world in the 20th century isn't all that forward thinking and tolerant" She paused "You can trust Harry, and you can trust me - we won't spill the beans"

"Thank you" Sally-Anne smiled, then blinked "So - if you weren't talking about me, who were you talking about?" Luna stared back at her, a slight smile on her face "Blaise? You think Blaise is in love with me?"

"It's possible" Luna said "Here's what we know....."

xoxox

Luna woke up the next morning, her mind playing over what Sally-Anne had said in The Nexus before they had planned how they were going to rescue Blaise. 

When, a few minutes later, she walked down to the common room, she found Harry waiting for her.... along with Ginny. 

"Good morning, Luna" Ginny smiled "And Merry Christmas" Luna gazed at her for a moment, then smiled back.

"Merry Christmas, Ginny" She looked at Harry "Merry Christmas, Mr Potter"

"Mr Potter's my mother" Harry replied with a grin "My friends call me Xylthplythlyx The First"

"Merry Christmas, Mr Xylthplythlyx The First" Luna walked over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek "Tidings of comfort and joy"

"Comfort and joy?" Ginny asked.

"Tidings of comfort and joy" Harry nodded "Are you ready for breakfast, my dear?"

"Oh yes - I think we have a long day today, and it is the most important meal of the day" Luna said in her most serious voice "I have always thought it was so important you should have breakfast for every meal" 

"Breakfast for every meal?" Ginny asked, staring between the two of them "Do you think the house-elves would do that?"

"Probably not, no" Harry shook his head sadly "So, Miss Lovegood, shall we go?" 

"Forth, fifth and sixthwith" She nodded, then glanced at Ginny "Coming?"

"I said I'd wait for my brother" Ginny replied, glancing up at the stairs "I don't suppose he was up?" Harry shook his head "There's a surprise" She glanced at Harry for a moment, then sighed "I'll be along soon"

"Okay-dokay" Luna grinned, then slipped her hand into Harry's "Deck the halls bows of parsley!"

"Fa-la-la-la-la-fa-la-la-la!"

xoxox

Blaise walked down towards The Great Hall and stopped when she saw Harry and Luna walking a few steps ahead of her. 

Blinking, her mind flashed back to the dream about the cave of spiders. During the nightmare, she hadn't really paid a lot of attention to who she had been rescuing - she was paying slightly more attention to not being killed and not being eaten - but Harry and Luna's voices had triggered something in her memory, and snapshots of the dream were coming back to her.

Including a few flashes of Harry and Luna's faces running towards her - fleeing in fear from the spiders.

xoxox

"Is she still behind us?" Luna asked.

"Yes" Harry nodded.

"Shall we stop and talk to her?" Luna suggested, and Harry nodded again. They both slowed their pace, then shared a smile as they heard Blaise walk up behind them.

"Blaise?" Luna said quietly as The Slytherin girl walked past them "Can we talk?" 

"No" Came the hissed reply "Go away"

"We just want to talk to you about the fire caves" Harry said.

"Go away" Blaise hissed again, then she looked around "If they see me talking to you, they will tell my family" She started walking a little faster.

"We just...."

"They will kill me" Blaise turned to stare at them, still glancing around "If they find out I am talking to The Boy Who Lived without insulting him or threatening him my family will kill me and stick my head on a pike" She glared at them "Leave me alone" She turned and stalked off, bumping Luna aside as she went. Harry and Luna gazed after her, then looked at each other.

"That went well" Harry said with a sigh.

"Better than you might think" Luna gave him a slight smile, then pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. She glanced at it, then put it away again "Greenhouse #4, in three hours"

xoxox

Blaise paced back and forth, looking around at the plants surrounding her. Occasionally she glanced out of the windows, making sure that no one could see her. True - most of the students had gone home for Christmas, but there were enough members of her house still for her to be in a lot of trouble of any of them saw her.

Turning back, she started pacing back and forth again until she heard the sound of the greenhouse door opening. She walked over to the left aisle, and ducked down behind a row of sunflowers. 

"BURN YOU MINIONS OF DARKNESS!" A voice bellowed out through the greenhouse, making Blaise smile. Glancing round the table she was hiding behind, she saw Harry and Luna standing just inside the door.

"Come on in, Mr Potter, Miss Lovegood" She said, standing up "Sorry for the cloak and dagger theatrics, but....."

"But if any of your friends saw you hanging around with The Boy Who Lived....." Luna smiled "Don't worry about it, Miss Zabini - I think you will find that when it comes to cloak and dagger, we are not exactly new to this" She paused "But while I am sure we could stand here and talk about our relative sneakiness all day........"

"You want to talk to me about the fire caves" Blasie said, then - with another glance out of the window - she glanced towards the back of the greenhouse "Do you mind if we go a bit further back? We are a little visible out here"

"Okay" Harry nodded. The three students walked down the central aisle and came to a halt between the limping roo trees and the snaggle-vines. Blaise glanced around again, then turned to face Harry and Luna.

"Sorry for being a little paranoid, but....." She trailed off "Anyway - you wanted to talk about the fire caves?"

"Yeah" Harry nodded "First we wanted to thank you for saving us" He paused "On behalf of Neville, Hermione and Sally and the two of us - thank you for what you did during the spider attack"

"You do realise that you wouldn't have died if the spiders had attacked you, right?" Blaise looked at each of them in turn.

"Oh - we know" Luna nodded "But I would imagine being eaten by a giant spider is something that sticks with you for your next to trips into The Underland" Blaise raised her eyebrows at Luna's comment, but Luna continued "Thank you for saving us from that - we are in your debt" Blaise gave them a shy smile, turning slightly pink as she did.

"You are most welcome, Miss Lovegood" She gave a brief nod.

"And it is a debt I believe we can repay" Harry said quietly. Blaise stared at him in slight confusion.

"Repay? How?" She asked.

"What do you know about the place we met?" Luna asked in response.

"It's a world of nightmares" Blaise replied without hesitation "I have been going there every night in my sleep since the year started.... maybe before then - I'm not sure" She paused "Why were you there?"

"I will explain in a moment" Luna said quietly "Where did you learn to make the weapons? The flame thrower and the other things you used?"

"After my first few nights there, I started to notice a pattern" Blaise gave a wicked smile "I tended to reappear where I was when I woke up" She paused "That sentence made more sense in my head"

"We understand" Harry said with a smile.

"I also noticed that things were mostly undisturbed - one time I left five rocks piled on top of each other, and they were there when I came back. The next time I deliberately arranged some broken branches in an arrow pointing towards the ruins in the north" Blaise paused "Again it was there"

"So you started building weapons?" Luna asked, and Blaise nodded.

"At first it was sticks, then spears" She paused "I even started spending time in the library to find out about muggle weapons since my wand was useless"

"And the flame-thrower?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I learned to make fire, and it kind of went on from there" Blaise smiled back at him "I made a hide-out in a cave that is covered with moss and ivy, so the creatures tend to pass me by" She sighed "Given that I spend every night there, I sometimes go out hunting"

"Have you ever......." Harry started, then trailed off. 

"Died?" Blaise supplied, and he gave a brief nod, blushing slightly.

"Three times. The first I was running away and fell off a cliff. The second was at the hands of a rockslide caused by a group of trolls" She paused "The third was in the fire-caves at the hands of the spiders"

"May I ask......"

"After I died, I woke up in my bed, ready to scream the place down" She paused "But I would not recommend it as a way of escaping. Dying in your nightmares is just as painful as dying in the real world...... at least I assume it is - I've never had the pleasure"

"I guess that makes sense" Luna looked across at Harry "You never die in a dream, so dying is easy. But a nightmare is everything you fear - everything you truly dread....."

"So dying actually hurts" Harry nodded in understanding.

"What are you two talking about?" Blaise alternated her gaze between the two of them.

"One more minute" Luna said kindly "I just have one more question" Blaise stared at her, then gave a single, brief nod "It's kind of personal"

"You do surprise me" Blaise rolled her eyes "Ask me what you want to ask me"

"What sent you there in the first place?" Luna asked. Blaise stared at her, then shook her head.

"Sorry - I don't know if I can trust you yet. Maybe if you answer some of my questions, then I might learn" Harry and Luna exchanged glances, then Luna looked back.

"The ruins you mentioned - do they look like someone dropped a chess piece from a great height?" She asked. Blaise tilted her head to one side, then smiled.

"I guess, from a certain point of view" She said.

"When you go to The Underland tonight, make your way to the ruins. We'll meet you there and I promise we will explain everything" Luna paused "We might even be able to prevent you from ending up there ever again" Blaise started at her incredulously.

"Miss Lovegood - if you can make sure I never go back to that hellhole again, I will be your willing slave for the rest of your life" Laughter filled the air, making Harry smile and Blaise blink in surprise.

"Miss Zabini - I do not want slaves, or worshippers" Luna said when she had calmed down "I will settle for friendship......."

"We can't be friends" Blaise interrupted quickly "I mean you are not so bad, Miss Lovegood, but if I am seen cohorting with The Boy Who Lived, I will be killed" Luna stared at her intently.

"Yes...... I can see that" She paused "But there are ways for us to be friends that do not include.... cohorting" She smiled at Blaise "Come to the ruins tonight and it will all be explained" She held up her hand before Blaise could respond "If you don't agree by dawn tomorrow, I won't mention it again" Blaise gazed back at her, then smiled.

"Okay. The ruins, once I fall asleep" She paused "If this is a joke, or a trick......"

"Then tomorrow you can get whatever revenge you see fit" Harry replied "No one will stop you" Blaise gave him another wicked grin.

"Count on it, Potter" She said, then looked around "I've got to go. Snape will be starting his rounds any moment now, and I should be back before he starts to wonder where I am" Before either of them could reply, Blaise turned and vanished into the plants. A few moments later, they heard the door to the greenhouse open then close. 

"Will she come?" Harry asked. 

"Ninety nine futures out of a hundred say yes" Luna nodded.

"And the other one?"

"She is so excited about the idea of getting out of The Underland that she can't fall asleep" Luna smirked.

xoxox

"So what's the mission for tonight, boss?" Sally-Anne asked as she entered the control room at The Nexus.

"Rescuing a damsel in distress" Luna replied without looking up from the maps "We are just waiting for Harry and... well - you to arrive" 

"I saw Hugsy coming in from the other direction" Sally-Anne said, walking up next to Luna "So who's the damsel?"

"Blaise Zabini" Hermione said. Sally-Anne turned to see her friend dressed in full battle armour, armed with a wickedly sharp sword "Luna and Harry talked to her today, and they think they can bring her up here"

"You are definitely sure that's a good idea?" Sally-Anne asked quietly "I know we agreed, but I just want to remind you she's the child of two death eaters, and may be part of Mafloy's mob of next generation"

"She isn't" Luna said, still looking at the maps.

"How can you be....." Sally-Anne started, then trailed off when Luna looked up and stared her in the eyes "Sorry. Forgot who I was dealing with"

"With whom you were dealing" Hermione smirked, making Sally-Anne stick her tongue out and Luna laugh.

"Blaise is no more a death eater than I am, or my father is" Luna said, still smiling "Her parents were, but from everything I've seen and everything I've learned, Blaise is pure and innocent" She paused "Well - she isn't a death eater anyway" Another round of laughter followed her statement.

"I missed the funny part?" Harry asked, walking in and stopping.

"We were just discussing whether Blaise is a future death eater or not" Luna said.

"She isn't" Harry replied at once.

"See?" Luna grinned at Sally-Anne.

"Alright, alright" Sally-Anne waved her hands in surrender, then looked at Hermione "So where can I get equipment like that?"

"Through this door" Neville said, walking out of the same door Hermione had entered by, dressed in a similar fashion "There's a set each for you and Harry" 

"What about Lu?" Harry asked. Luna looked up at him and smiled.

"There's a set for her as well" Hermione said with a smile "So, boss, when do we leave?" Luna stared at the map for a few more moments, then smiled.

"No time like the present" She stood up and walked round the table "Harry and I will take point - we are the two that Blaise are expecting - and I want you three to fly overwatch and warn us if any bad guys or monsters are coming for us"

"Yes, boss" Everyone replied in unison making her smile.

"Everyone on the launch pad in five minutes - armed and armoured" She paused "I know death is not forever here, but I want to bring her back alive" 

xoxox

Blaise pushed herself further into the shadows as a crowd of spiders passed by in the distance. She looked around the ruins she was hiding in, and knew that if the spiders decide to come back this way, she was in one of the least defensible positions she had ever been in. 

"Five more minutes, Lovegood - then I am coming for your arse" She said to herself.

"I'm sorry, Miss Zabini, but no one touches Luna's arse but me" A voice above her said. She notched an arrow on to her bow without thinking and pointed it upward, only to see Harry smiling down at her "Shooting me out of the sky would be a bad move at this point, don't you think?"

"Potter? What....." Blaise stared, still confused - confusion which grew a moment later as four more animals swept down and formed a perimeter around the ruins. 

"Blaise - we can get you out of here, but you have to come with us now" Luna said, climbing off her dragon "We can take you somewhere safe - and you will never have to come back here unless you want to" Blaise stared at her, but before she could respond, she heard another voice from her left.

"Spiders - ten o'clock. I'd say thirty of them" Neville called out "Maybe ten, fifteen minutes out"

"Blaise - not to hurry you, but I am going to have to hurry you" Luna walked up to her "Do you want to come with us or not?" Blaise stared at her a moment longer, then nodded.

"Neville, Hermione - keep an eye on the spiders. Harry, Sally-Anne, take off again - I want to see if anyone else is coming to the party" Luna paused "Miss Zabini - if you will come with me?" She held out her hand, which Blaise took a moment later. As Harry and Sally-Anne flew up into the air, Luna lead Blaise over to Nirnaeth, and helped her climb on. 

"Time to go, guys" Luna called out, and Blaise watched as Neville and Hermione joined the three already flying, 

"The Nexus?"

"The Nexus" Luna nodded to Neville's question. Blaise looked down to see the black mass coming closer, but a second later she found herself grasping Luna round the waist as her dragon flew up into the clouds.

xoxox

Five minutes later, she gasped in amazement as Luna lead the group down towards a large building perched on a cloud.

After all five animals had landed and their various riders dismounted, Luna turned to Blaise, smiling brightly.

"Miss Zabini - welcome to The Dreamland"


	8. The Brave And The Bold

Blaise opened her eyes, then blinked in surprise. She closed them again, then slowly opened them again, only to realise she wasn't imagining it.

There was a single yellow rose in what appeared to be a crystal vase sat on her bedside table. And a small white envelope was leaning against it. 

"How......" She started, then her somewhat sleepy mind caught up with her mouth "Magic. Or Dreamland power" She scooched backwards until she was leaning against her pillows. She reached out and picked up the envelope, opened it and slid the paper out. 

_Dear Blaise,_

_First, before you start worrying we have been in here, peeking at you in your unmentionables, I give you my solemn promise that none of us would violate your privacy for that. For fun, maybe, but not for this._

_While you have been here for nearly eight weeks, I am still not sure you fully grasp the powers you have here, nor the truly amazing things that you can do in The Dreamland._

_We all know where your castle is, and where you room is within your castle. That was all I needed to make sure this gift could arrive here and now._

_So now that I have - hopefully - soothed any worries about us spying on you at night, I will get on to the reason for this letter, and this gift._

_We know that you can't be our friend in the real world. That your guardians and your.... other friends would find it distasteful and offensive for you to hobnob with The Boy Who Lived, his mudblood friend and the rest of us blood traitors. And we understand why you avoid us and why you sometimes make joke at our expense._

_But we also know that that isn't you. That the girl we met in The Dreamland - the girl we have grown to love and adore - is the true you. And we all do love and adore you. Our lives are so much better for you being in them, and none of us want to imagine a world where we don't get to see you every night._

_So this rose is for you - to show our appreciation and our love for who you are, for what you have done for us. And although you can't be a part of what will happen tomorrow morning, we wanted to make sure you didn't feel left out._

_Happy Valentines Day, Blaise Marilla Zabini._

_Your friend, always,  
Luna._

Blaise lowered the paper to the bed, tears misting the back of her eyes. She looked over at the flower, and felt a smile cross her lips. While her guardians had not given her a thorough education about the muggle world, she knew enough to know what a yellow rose meant. And it touched her more than she could say. 

Especially given her past. 

xoxox

She had lived with her parents until she was nine years old, at which point they were arrested for being death eaters and she was shipped off to live with her aunt and uncle. A few months later, when her parents were tried and executed, the new living arrangements became permanent. 

Her aunt and uncle had drilled it into her that her parents were true patriots. That death eaters were a group of people who wanted to return the magical world to what it once was - to return to a time when traditions were respected and the old families were given the honours they deserve. And while there were some death eaters who had strayed outside the law, The Ministry was punishing everyone who had been involved, regardless of their actual guilt or innocence.

This had continued for the two years before she arrived at Hogwarts, and all the way through her first year at school.

Right up until the night Lucius had come to visit.

xoxox

Blaise lay in her bed, reading a book on transfiguration, then looked up when she heard a knock at the front door.

"Mr Malfoy - welcome" Blaise looked up from her book when she heard her aunt welcoming Draco's father. Setting the book aside, she crept over to the door. 

"Mrs French" Lucius' cultured tones drifted up the stairs, making Blaise shiver. She didn't like the son all that much, but the father gave her the creeps.

"My husband and I are honoured....."

"Save your grovelling, Jasmina - we have important things to discuss" Lucius' tone turned sharper, making Blaise shiver again. 

"Very well - Janus is in the living room" She heard her aunt and her guest walk down the hall and into the front room. Blaise took a deep breath, then slowly made her way down the stairs until she was sat near the bottom. 

"Mr Malfoy - you said that you wanted to talk to us" Janus said in a polite tone - at least it sounded polite, but Blaise could detect a hint of fear.

"Yes" Lucius replied "Your sister and her husband were devoted to the cause - they were true warriors and when our Lord returns, I will ensure their names are celebrated and venerated" 

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy" Jasmina said.

"And while I the part that you two played in our endeavours was less than it should have been, I understand why it was such - Ursula wanted to ensure her daughter would be raised by true believers, rather than some Ministry sycophants or blood-traitors" Lucius tone was slightly disparaging.

"We have raised her to believe in the cause, Mr Mafloy" Janus said defiantly.

"So I have heard" Lucius said, slightly sarcastically "According to my son, she believes her parents were executed by The Ministry for protesting against the government during a time of conflict. That they were part of a peaceful movement to bring about the restoration of pureblood supremacy" He paused "May I ask why you have never told her the truth?" 

"We are trying to convince her that death eaters are the moral bastions of our society, Mr Malfoy" Jasmina said forcefully "Telling her that her parents had been arrested and executed for torturing twenty three muggle men, women and children to death would hardly encourage that belief"

xoxox

The Covenstone Massacre had occurred in 1979 and was one of the biggest atrocities during Voldemort's first rise. Eventually five wizards - including her parents - were tried and executed, although The DMLE suspected far more were involved.

There were - she knew that for certain. 

xoxox

"Jasmina - you were given a great deal of compensation in return for your sister's confession" Lucius continued in a commanding tone "And you were further paid when they were willing to take the blame for crimes committed by others in our movement. While we have been willing to be compassionate over the last three years, the time is coming when you will have to renew your dedication to our cause, and to find out whether your adoptive daughter has a similar dedication" 

"We understand, Mr Malfoy" Jasmina replied "Our niece is currently asleep at the moment, however we will find out over the next few days where her heart and her head lie" 

"Make no mistake - our Lord will return soon and he will expect all those who profess to follow his banner to be at his side when he returns" Lucius' tone turned silky again "Your sister and her husband were true believers. Their activities were legendary, and their names are revered" He paused, then his voice turned hard again "I expect that you will ensure their daughter will follow in their footsteps. That you will raise her to be the girl her parents would have wanted her to be" 

"We will, Mr Malfoy" Her uncle said.

"Because otherwise, it might be necessary to find her a more suitable family" Lucius' lowered his voice, and Blaise had to strain to hear him "One that would teach your daughter proper values. One that would ensure she mixes with the right people and stays clear of those who would corrupt her" He paused "After all - I would hate for the Zabini line to lose another daughter - especially as the death of that daughter would see the end of the line as far as the Family is concerned" 

xoxox

After Lucius had left, she had gone back to bed and found herself in The Underland (as she now knew it to be called). Over the next five months - until Luna and the others had pulled her out of that hellhole - she had suffered night after night, reliving what her parents had done and discovering that the theory that dreams were a mix of the days events and repressed memories was actually true.

The first time she had seen the girl - an eight year old in a golden stitch nightie - she had just thought it was another nightmare that her subconscious had dreamed up. Someone to protect - maybe the lost innocence of her youth.

It was only when she saw the figures in robes - black robes with bone white masks - appear that she had an inkling this might be something more. And when she was forced to watch the as the eight year old girl was sacrificed in some sort of arcane ritual - all the while crying out for to her parents to stop it - she realised what Lucius had meant when he said _"to lose another daughter"_

The next morning, she had gone to the library and started looking into her own family history. Within an hour she had found the birth records of Isabelle Kaytlian Zabini, but no amount of searching had revealed any death records for her older sister.

Ever since then, The Underland had been getting more and more brutal, and she had been getting more and more desperate, until the night that Luna had rescued her.

xoxox

Shaking herself out of her memories, Blaise looked at the flower again, then - with a surprisingly bright smile on her face - she threw her covers back and bounded out of bed. Time to great the night.

xoxox

The following morning, she opened her eyes and almost at once looked towards her beside table. For a moment she half expected to see a yellow rose sat there, but almost at once she knew it would be impossible. 

But if what Luna had confided in her during the night, breakfast was going to be fun. 

With a spring in her step she had only recently rediscovered, she flung the covers back and headed towards the bathrooms.

xoxox

"Headmaster - may I have a word?" Dumbledore looked up to find Filius stood at the entrance to his office.

"Of course. Do come in" He gestured for Filius to sit down, then folded his hands across his stomach "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I have just had a strange visit from young Miss Clearwater" Filius said, sitting down in the chair opposite The Headmaster "She got up late this morning, and was the last student in Ravenclaw Tower to come down to breakfast - or she thought she was"

"Yes?" Dumbledore quirked an eyebrow.

"She found Miss Lovegood sitting in the common room, staring into the fireplace. She - Miss Lovegood - paid no attention to Miss Clearwater's approach, but when my prefect tapped the young first year on the shoulder, the girl turned her head, and then......"

"And then what, Filius?" Dumbledore leaned forward, looking intent "What happened?"

"Miss Lovegood said 'The moon child will be lost, cast adrift in the endless night. Only with the addition of the brave shall she be returned to the world'" Filius paused "Miss Clearwater did say that the young girl did not appear to be aware of what she was saying - or even that anyone else was there" Dumbledore stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Thank you, Filius" He said quickly "Are you aware if Miss Clearwater has spoken to anyone else?" 

"I don't know, Albus" Filius replied, slightly surprised "I can ask her, if you wish"

"No - thank you. I will deal with this" Dumbledore paused "Please do not speak of this to anyone else until I ascertain exactly what is going on"

"Yes, Headmaster" Filius nodded "Is Miss Lovegood in danger?"

"No, I don't believe so - at least not that I can see" Dumbledore spoke in a placating voice "However I wish to ensure that no one else will be placed in danger, and that Miss Lovegood is not a danger to anyone else" He paused "That is all, Professor"

"Yes, Headmaster" Filius stood up and left. Dumbledore waited until the door had closed, then he stood up and walked over to a chart on the wall.

"Show me Miss Clearwater, Ravenclaw" He said calmly, and a moment later, Penelope Clearwater's name glowed, and the words "Third floor corridor" appeared next to it. Drawing his wand, Dumbledore turned on the spot and vanished.

xoxox

Penelope Clearwater was walking along the corridor towards the main stairs when she heard Dumbledore's voice from behind her.

"Miss Clearwater - may I have a word?" She stopped and turned.

"Of course, Headmaster" She nodded.

"Professor Flitwick told me about the incident this morning. May I ask if you have spoken to anyone else?" He asked in a grandfatherly voice.

"No, sir" She shook her head "After Miss Lovegood spoke, she appeared to come out of whatever trance she was in, then she went down to breakfast. I was just on my way there"

"Thank you" Dumbledore smiled, then drew his wand "Obliviate!" A light orange glow engulfed Penelope for a moment, then faded "You will forget everything about Miss Lovegood's declaration this morning. You saw her, told her to go to breakfast and then followed her. You will remember nothing of this, nor of speaking to Professor Flitwick"

"Yes, Headmaster" Penelope replied in a flat, dead voice. 

"Go"

"Yes, sir" She nodded, then turned and walked off down the corridor. 

xoxox

Pausing at the door to The Great Hall, Luna looked at the decorations that their latest defence teacher had inflicted on them. 

"Well - at least it's festive" She said to herself, then shrugged and walked over to the Hufflepuff table.

"Good morning Harry, Hermione" Luna inclined her head slightly as she sat down "Did you both sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you Luna" Harry gave her a bright smile "How about you?"

"I admit I was a little excited and had trouble falling asleep, but when I did I had the nicest dream" She paused "My parents and I were having a picnic down by the stream near our house" She sighed "It was nice" 

"It sounds it" Harry said with a smile. 

"And what do you think of our illustrious defence teacher's decorations?" Luna looked around at the various hearts, cupids, balloons and ribbons that now bedecked The Hall. 

"It looks like a teddy bear convention got drunk and threw up in here" Hermione said simply. Luna laughed, then lowered her voice.

"I poked Dumbledore with a stick this morning" She whispered "Hopefully it should convince him that letting me come here was a good idea, and that I will need the help of everyone to be of any use to him" She looked round as Penelope entered, then turned back to her friends and raised her voice again "So - are you looking forward to another exciting day in Hogwarts?" 

"Always" Hermione picked up a forkful of sausages and transferred them to her plate "Good morning, Penny"

"Hermione, Harry" Penelope nodded, then looked at Luna "Luna? Did you get resorted in the night?"

"Yes" Luna replied promptly.

"Really?"

"No, not really" Luna shook her head "But I told you this morning, Valentine's Day was always a special day for my mother and I, and since her death I've always tried to spend it with friends" Penelope stared at her blankly for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well - just don't make a habit of it" She turned and walked towards the Ravenclaw table, while Luna frowned slightly.

"I had hoped he wouldn't resort to that, but I guess I was wrong" She gave a quiet sigh, then looked at her friends "Excuse me a moment?" 

"Lu? Are you okay?" Harry asked, voice full of concern.

"Yes - don't worry about me" Luna waved her hand, then got up and walked over to where Neville and Sally-Anne were sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table. A moment later, all three came back to sit down in front of Harry and Hermione.

"A gathering of the coven?" Hermione raised an eyebrow curiously. 

"I thought it would make their flight a little shorter" Luna replied, then she set about putting some sausages on her own plate. Her four friends stared at her in confusion, then looked up as four jet black owls swept down from the rafters, each depositing a yellow rose and a letter in front of them.

"I suggest reading them in private" Luna continued without looking up "Oh - Harry?"

"Yes, Lu?" Harry - already holding the rose in his left hand and the letter in his right - looked up at her. She looked at him apologetically.

"I tried to stop the events of the defence lesson this afternoon, but in the end it would cause more problems than it solved. I am truly sorry" Harry looked at her with an amused grin.

"I take it I will understand that later?" He asked, and she nodded, still looking apologetic "Then apologies accepted in advance, my good lady"

"Why thank you, kind sir" She gave him a polite nod, then looked down at her plate "Eggs!"

xoxox

Later that afternoon, Harry and Hermione walked into their defence lesson and sat down next to Neville and Sally-Anne..

"So what do you think she meant about the lesson?" Harry asked quietly.

"Maybe Two Planks is going to use you for one of his 'demonstrations'" Neville replied with an amused grin.

"Or maybe he'll actually teach us something useful and we'll all faint with shock" Sally-Anne added.

"Or...... oh dear" Hermione was looking over her shoulder. Harry turned his head, then sighed.

"Is there any chance that that isn't for me?" He said with a sigh.

"Haven't you realised you are the centre of the universe yet, Mr Potter?" Sally-Anne said with a grin she was trying, but totally failing, to hide.

"Hear ye, Hear ye!" The dwarf Hermione had spotted strode to the front of the class "I have a message for Mr Potter!"

"Then go ahead, my fine dwarf" Lockhart said with a bright smile, looking over to where Harry sat, head down. 

"Mr Potter - I have a message from your maiden crowned with a radiant garland!" The dwarf cleared his throat, then a parchment appear in his hands.

__

His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,:   
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.   
I wish he was mine, he's really divine,  
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord!

Harry stared at the dwarf, glowing red with embarrassment.

"My duty discharged, I go to bring more happiness" The dwarf finished in a dead-pan tone, then walked out of the classroom. 

"Well - wasn't that nice" Lockhart said after a few moments of silence, then he turned and walked back behind his desk "Now - for today's lesson, we are going to learn about the Shapeshifters of Samarkand and how I bound them to a single form" He drew his wand "It was in the heat of summer that I journeyed to that ancient city....."

xoxox

As the class ended, Hermione noticed that Harry was putting his books away far more slowly than usual.

"Sorry to break this to you, dearest Harry, but the story is going to be all over the castle by dinner time" He turned to look at her.

"You think so?" He asked in a plaintive whine.

"Padma Patil doesn't share a lot of traits with her twin" Sally-Anne said "But she does like a little gossip now and then, and this......." She waved towards the door "This is one of the bigger pieces of gossip to hit Hogwarts since Luna returned from the dead"

"She wasn't......" Harry started, then trailed off with another sigh "So what do I do?"

"You can ignore it, you can treat it as a joke, or you can talk to the person it came from" Hermione replied "See if you can convince her....."

"Ginny Weasley" Neville and Sally-Anne said in unison.

"....that you only want to be friends" Hermione finished, then looked at her two friends "Ginny Weasley?"

"Ron's little sister" Neville said, then glanced at Harry "Somewhat obsessed with The Boy Who Lived"

"She's not the only girl who has a thing for our Harry" Hermione pointed out.

"Ginny's full name is Ginevra - a modern day version of Guinevere" Neville added "Which - some muggle scholars believe - was the inspiration for the name Galadriel"

"The elf-lady in The Lord Of The Rings" Hermione nodded in understanding, then frowned "Hold on..... how would Ginny know about The Lord Of The Rings?"

"Arthur - that's her father - was a little worried about her obsession with you when she was young" Neville said quietly "So he tried reading her some other stories"

"Stories of heroes and villains? Of heroic deeds and valiant hearts?" Hermione said wryly.

"Quite" Neville grinned back at her.

"So you think I should talk to her?" Harry asked, looking at his three friends "Tell her that I don't feel that way about her?"

"Maybe" Hermione shrugged "And if the alternatives are ignoring it or dismissing it as a joke, then......" She shrugged again "I guess it depends if you want to be friends with Ginny in the future or not" 

"Given how well being friends with Ron turned out....." Harry smirked.

"If you ignore her crush, she is a lot different than her brother" Neville said as they started walking out of the classroom "She's nice enough - a little noisy at times and she can be a little rambunctious" He paused, then lowered his voice "And if we are going to take on you know who, then having friends in his play group would be helpful"

"I think we should talk to Luna" Harry said after a few moments "She may be able to......" He glanced around, noticing some of the portraits were clearly trying to look as if they were not paying attention "....give us some insight about her former friend" Hermione looked at him curiously, but he simply continued walking. With a shrug, she followed him.

xoxox

"So, sister of mine, I heard an interesting story today" Fred sat down on one side of Ginny, while George sat down on her other side "About a dwarf delivering a poem to Harry Potter" Ginny looked up at them, brow slightly furrowed.

"What?" She blinked "What poem?"

"Rumour has it from Parvati that you wrote a romantic poem and had it delivered to Harry Potter" George repeated, then he looked closer at his sister "Are you alright?"

"I've got a bit of a headache" Ginny said, then she slowly got to her feet "I'm going to go back and lie down in my bed for a while" 

"What about the....." Fred started.

"I'm going to lie down!" Ginny snapped at him, then turned and stomped out of The Great Hall. The twins exchanged glances, then Fred bit his lip.

"Do you think we should have done it?" He asked.

"You know she likes him, brother mine" George replied, staring at the doors "If this gives her an excuse to be introduced, then I say it was worth it" Fred stared back at him, then gave a reluctant nod.

"We should keep an eye on her though" He added after a second "Maybe get Parvati to check on her later"

"Of course" George nodded.

xoxox

"What was that?" Harry's head flicked up as he, Hermione, Neville and Sally-Anne walked towards The Great Hall.

"What was what?" Hermione looked at him.

"I thought..... I thought I heard a voice" He looked around "It was saying...... it was saying 'hungry, feed, kill'" He looked at the others "You didn't hear it?"

"No" Hermione said, and the other two shook their heads. 

"But..... there it is again!" He insisted, heading off down a side corridor. Hermione glanced at Sally-Anne and Neville, then all three followed him.

"It's coming from......." Harry paused, then trailed off, coming to a halt "Oh.... oh god" Hermione caught up with him, then came to a halt as well, with Neville and Sally-Anne stopping behind them.

"Are they dead?" Sally-Anne asked in a small voice, staring at the two prone forms on the ground. 

"Only one way to find out" Hermione said, throwing her head back. She walked over to the first body, then knelt down. Pressing her hand against his neck, she felt for a pulse. 

"His heart's still beating, and he's still breathing" She looked round "Check the girl" Neville walked over and squatted down next to the girl. Mirroring Hermione's movements, he felt a steady beat coming from the girl's neck.

"She's alive as well" He said "But...... but I think they're petrified" He looked over at Harry "The cat - Mrs Norris - suffered the same" 

"A spell?" Hermione asked, getting to her feet again.

"I don't know" Harry said "But we need to tell someone - we need to let people know....." He looked around and saw a portrait on a near by wall "You - I know Dumbledore spies on the school using the portraits. Tell him two students need his help - that whatever attacked at Halloween attacked now as well" The maid in the portrait stared back, then turned and bounded out of the frame.

"Dumbledore uses the portraits?" Sally-Anne asked in surprise "Really?"

"Also chocolate frog cards" Luna said, coming towards them from the far end of the corridor "Sorry - I got delayed after charms" She looked down at the two petrified forms "Percy and Penelope. I think they probably wanted more out of their first date - but at least they aren't dead" She looked around "Did you see anyone else?" 

"No" Harry shook his head "But I did hear a voice..... at least I think it was a voice. I followed it...."

"Dummy up" Luna interrupted him, and he fell silent at once. A moment later, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Filius and Pomona rounded the corner and stopped in front of them.

"Mr Potter - I got your message. Can you tell us what happened here?" Dumbledore said quickly.

"We were heading towards The Great Hall - for tea - when we heard a noise down this way. We came here and found Percy and Penelope petrified" Hermione replied "We didn't see anyone else - or anything else. Just these two" Dumbledore gazed at them, then turned to Pomona.

"Would you and Filius mind transporting these two to the infirmary?" He asked. Pomona glanced at Harry and the others, then gave a brief nod. Drawing her wand, she levitated Percy while Filius raised Penelope into the air, then they walked off down the corridor, floating their charges in front of them. 

"Are you certain you saw no one else?" McGonagall asked.

"No one" Harry confirmed.

"And you didn't see what happened to them?" Dumbledore pressed.

"We found them like this" Sally-Anne replied, then glanced over her shoulder "Your little spy there should be able to confirm that" The maid - who had returned to the portrait - merely stared back at her.

"You will watch your language, Miss Perks" McGonagall snapped "It is the duty of The Headmaster to protect his students, and the portraits are merely a tool to aid him in that"

"And yet two of them are now in the infirmary, petrified by some unknown force" Neville rolled his eyes "Good job, tool" 

"Mr Longbottom - you will not...."

"Do not worry, Minerva - it is merely the emotion of the moment that is causing them to speak out of turn. I am sure they mean no disrespect" Dumbledore gave the five students a kindly smile. 

"Of course it is" Hermione said, mirroring Dumbledore's smile "We would never want to show Professor Dumbledore any less respect than he deserves" Luna bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at Hermione's statement, while Dumbledore and McGonagall merely smiled back at her.

"What's this? Another attack?" Lockhart strode up, cape billowing behind him "Such a pity I wasn't here just a moment earlier - I know exactly the counter curse to prevent such a thing"

"Yes - what a pity" McGonagall glared at him "Perhaps you could use your vaunted expertise to finding out what is causing these attacks? Would that be possible, Gilderoy?"

"Actually - I had an idea about that, Minerva" He turned to Dumbledore "I was wondering if I might discuss it with you later, Albus"

"I am at your disposal, Professor" Dumbledore said politely "However I believe your talents would be most suited to ensuring our five wayward students reach The Great Hall safely" He paused "Perhaps you will have a chance to use your wonderful counter curse along the way"

"I serve at your pleasure, Albus" Lockhart gave a polite bow then turned to the students "If you would come with me, I will see you safe to your destination"

"Thank you, Professor" Luna said gushingly, making her four friends stare at her in bemusement before following on behind the defence teacher.

"Do you believe them Albus?" McGonagall asked as the party vanished round the corner.

"I see no reason not to, Minerva" Dumbledore said non-committally "And the portraits would have informed me if there had been anything I need to know" He paused "Something that Mr Potter and his friends seemed to have realised" He looked at her and smiled "We should be getting to dinner, Minerva"

"If only to see what that prancing fool has cooked up for this evening" McGonagall said under her breath.

xoxox

"No Ginny" Hermione looked over to the far side of The Hall "Did you decide what you were going to do?"

"No" Harry admitted "I don't want to hurt her, but if she is as obsessed with me as Neville says she is....."

"You're worried you won't be able to avoid it?" Hermione asked, and Harry nodded "My parents are good at dealing with pain, especially in children" She paused "That sounded better in my head"

"I would hope so" Harry laughed.

"And their general advice is if you have to cause it, get it over with as quickly as possible" She paused "Did you ever put a plaster on when you were little?"

"I still am little" Harry smirked "But you mean rip it off all at once? And as fast as I can?"

"Pretty much, yeah" Hermione nodded "Can you do it?"

"I don't know" He said with a sigh "But I guess we'll find out"

xoxox

"I can't see what's doing this" Luna said that night. She, Blaise and the others had gathered at Dreadnought "I saw the scene you came across, but when I try to look at what caused it the vision gets fuzzy" She started pacing back and forth "And it's getting worse" She span round and faced her five friends "Before I came back, I could see three, four sometimes even seven days in advance - all crystal clear and perfect. But now anything to do with this....... this thing that is attacking the students - attacking our friends - is full of blackouts and missing time" She threw herself into a chair "And that's not the worst of it" Harry walked over and knelt down beside her, taking her hand.

"Tell us" He said softly. She looked at him, then closed her eyes.

"The end of the month - there'll be one more attack and then it'll be my turn" She looked into Harry's eyes "I'm not going to die, but I can't avoid it. I'll be petrified like the rest" 

"Oh Luna" Harry threw his arms around her, pulling her into a hug "There's nothing we can do to stop it?" 

"If you stop the attack on me......." She continued gazing into his eyes "If you stop the attack on me, then someone else will die. I don't know who, but I know they won't just be petrified - they will die" She stared at him unblinking "I can't allow that, and if you love me, you won't either" He stared back at her, then nodded.

"I swear" He said, then looked at the others "Promise me"

"We swear" They said in unison.

"So......" Harry said with a grin "Any idea what I do about Ginny?" 

xoxox

A week later, the story spread around the castle that Ernie Macmillan and George Weasley had been found petrified. However this time there was a twist - the ghosts of The Fat Friar and The Bloody Baron had been found floating above the two students in an equally petrified state.

"What can petrify a ghost?" Hermione said to herself, walking alone towards The Hufflepuff common room. 

"That is a good question, Miss Granger" Hermione span round to find Dumbledore strolling along behind her.

"Headmaster" She inclined her head "The stories are true then, sir?" 

"Sadly, yes, Miss Granger" Dumbledore nodded "I do not fear that they are hurt, or that their current situation is dangerous, but it is an unusual set of circumstances"

"And the students?" Hermione stared up at him "Are you going to heal them soon, sir?" 

"Alas the mandrakes are not yet ready, Miss Granger. Professor Sprout assures me it will....."

"Can you not buy some mandrakes, sir?" Hermione cut across him "Leaving them in that state until the end of the year just seems wrong" She paused, then added "Sir" as an afterthought.

"I will take that under advisement, Miss Granger" Dumbledore's voice turned slightly cold "Isn't it time you were running along - I would not like to have to give you a detention for being out after curfew"

"Of course not, sir" Hermione glared at him, then turned and walked up to the portrait guarding her common room, said the password then went inside.

xoxox

"It was a nice try, Hermione, but Dumbledore regards the school as his own private fiefdom and there is no way he is going to let anyone from outside interfere" Luna was sat calmly in a chair in her private room in Gondolin "I would be surprised if he has even informed anyone on the outside of the castle that four students have been attacked and that there is a monster loose in the school" She shook her head "From what I can see - and it isn't much - the students, including me, will have to wait until the end of the year" She paused "The one advantage we have is that he won't leave me lost in eternity - I am far too valuable to him - and there is no way he can save me and leave the others, so we will all be healed" 

"There was a chance he wouldn't revive the others?" Harry asked, slightly horrified.

"There was a future - not a very probable one - where he obliviated the entire school and reported those who were petrified as dead in various accidents" 

"And people would believe that?" Hermione frowned.

"He is the great and wise Albus Dumbledore" Neville said sarcastically "Why would anyone doubt him?"

"Good god" Harry flopped down on the floor next to Luna's chair.

"Trust me - the gods have very little to do with this" She replied, then she took a deep breath "This coming weekend is the Hufflepuff - Slytherin game, yes?"

"Yes" Hermione nodded.

"Any hints about the scores?" Neville asked in a light tone "I've got a bet with Terry that Hufflepuff are going to smack them down good and proper"

"They won't" Luna said, a smile crossing her face for the first time that night.

"Bugger" Neville sighed.

"Thirty one minutes in, McGonagall is going to stop the game. Flint will protest, of course, but after she speaks to Dumbledore, you will all be sent back to your common rooms while he organises what will be an ultimately futile search of the schools" She looked up at her friends "After the search he will remember you are all my friends, and allow you to visit me" She paused "He's also going to try to get Ginny into your little circle - thanks to my prophecy he thinks she is The Brave one and that I will need her help to be returned" She rolled her eyes, then looked at Blaise "Sorry, sweetie - I couldn't be more specific otherwise you'd be in danger"

"I understand" Blaise paused "But I am going to be involved?" 

"Oh yes - there are jobs for everyone" Luna smiled at her "Whether you want them or not" She paused, then bounded to her feet "Remember - half an hour in, Lee will say....."

xoxox

"....Diggory swoops down on his broom, executing a perfect Socha Surprise, while Draco Malfoy - in only his second game - looks like he is all at sea" There were a few laughs and jeers around the stadium, making Draco blush "Meanwhile, the Hufflepuff front row form up and make another charge...... hold on"

"Here we go" Harry said under his breath.

"Guys - you have to stop the match" Lee's voice echoed through the now near silent stadium "Sorry - the game's being abandoned. Professor McGonagall" The players were still hovering around, looking at each other in confusion. 

"All students are to return to their common rooms immediately" McGonagall's voice was far more commanding than Lee's had been "Prefects - ensure all your students are present and accounted for. Your heads of house will be accompanying you, as will one other professor. No one is to go alone" She paused "You will be informed of what is going on when you are all safe. Now - go" 

"You heard Professor McGonagall" A sixth year perfect stood up behind Harry and Hermione "Everyone file out of the stand and wait for us"

"Yes, Sophie" Hermione nodded, but Harry stood up and headed in the opposite direction.

"Mr Potter - what...."

"Luna's not here - I just want to let her head of house know" Harry said without looking back. Sophie nodded, then rolled her eyes when Hermione followed Harry. 

xoxox

"Professor Flitwick - Luna isn't here" Harry said urgently "She said she'd meet us, but she isn't here" He glanced to where the rest of the students were filing out of the stadium and back towards the castle "If something's wrong, she might be in danger" Filius stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

"Come with me, Mr Potter" He looked past him "You too, Miss Granger"

xoxox

Ten minutes later, he lead them into the infirmary. 

"I'm afraid that Miss Lovegood was found like this, Mr Potter" Filius said quietly, while Harry and Hermione stared at the petrified form of their friend "You should be returning to your house now - Professor Sprout will be making an announcement" 

"Yes Professor" Hermione nodded. Harry walked over to where Luna was lying, then slowly bent down and kissed her forehead.

"We'll find it, my girl" He said softly "We'll find this, and kill it, and get you back" He stared at her for a moment longer, then he turned to face Filius.

"Okay sir, I'm ready to go"


	9. The Dark Of Future's Past

"LUNA?" Hermione, Neville and Blaise all clapped their hands to their ears as Harry's yell seemed to echo throughout The Dreamland.

"Bloody hell, Harry - do you have to scream so loud?" Neville asked.

"LUNA???!!!" Harry bellowed again.

"For gods' sake stop shouting" A ghostly figure appeared in front of them, floating a few inches off the ground "I am in Gondolin - I can't leave the castle" 

"You're alright?" Harry asked, his voice dropping to its normal volume.

"I'm...... okay" Luna's ghost paused "Do you think you could all come over here? This is harder than it looks.... which is the other thing I wanted to talk to you about" 

"We'll be right there" Harry replied at once, then put his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle.

"What's up?" Sally-Anne asked as the sound of Harry's whistle faded. 

"Luna's trapped in her castle" Blaise said, looking up as their various steeds flew over their heads. 

"Trapped?" Sally-Anne looked at Harry, but he was already running over to Hugsalot.

"Come on" Blaise said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards Issi-Noho "We have to go"

"Yes, sir" Sally-Anne gave her a quick salute with her over hand, then jumped on the back of the pony and together they flew off into the air, followed by Hugsalot, Issi-Noho and Galadriel.

xoxox

"Welcome to my prison" Luna stood at the gateway to her castle watching the four creatures land. 

"Prison?" Harry bounded of Hugsalot almost as soon as the dragon came to a halt, then ran over to her. 

"Prison" She nodded. Holding out her hand, she slowly moved it forward. Harry watched her, barely noticing as his friends arrived behind him, then blinked when her hand simply stopped.

"I don't know what it is, but I can't leave" Luna continued "Some kind of ward I guess - maybe the petrification has trapped me here" She paused, then shrugged "I still seem to have all my Dreamland powers, so I guess there are worse places to be"

"Can anyone else come in?" Blaise asked.

"Don't know" Luna shrugged "I am a little worried whoever....." Before she could finish, Blaise gave Harry a push, sending him stumbling into Gondolin's courtyard ".....might get trapped as well" She rolled her eyes, then looked at Harry "Hello"

"Evening" Harry grinned, then turned round and stared at Blaise "Was that strictly necessary?"

"Yes" Blaise grinned "So - can you come back out?" Harry looked at Luna, then he strode forward and walked out of the courtyard again. Turning, he gave Luna an apologetic smile "Sorry, sweetie - looks like its just you"

"Probably a side effect of the petrification process" 

"Makes sense I suppose" Hermione nodded, then she asked "Are there any other problems?"

"You know how I said I had learned to see four or five days in to the future?" 

"Uh-huh"

"It's gone" 

xoxox

"I can see tomorrow - you're going to get roast beef for dinner and Ron will spill some of it over Lavender - but that's really about it. I can't see any further than that" The group was sat in Luna's private study "Again - I think it's a side effect of the petrification process"

"Your body is physically frozen, so your mind is somewhat limited?" Hermione said, and Luna nodded "I suppose it will last as long as the petrification does?"

"Probably" Luna sighed "Which means I'm not going to be a lot of help to you over the next few months....."

"MONTHS?" Harry exclaimed in surprise "You're going to be petrified for months?"

"Mandrakes take time to grow" Neville interjected.

"But you can buy them, right?" Hermione looked round at the group "Diagon Alley sells them, don't they?"

"Actually, no" Blaise shook her head "Not for around fifty years or so"

"Why not?" Hermione frowned "Because it seems a little stupid that such things aren't available when they're needed"

"Do you remember Professor Sprout's first lesson on Mandrakes?" Sally-Anne asked "The properties of The Mandrake Root?"

"A little"

"During the war against Grindelwald, his armies started using mandrakes as weapons of mass destruction, so to speak" Neville explained "Their cry is fatal to anyone who hears is, so one of Grindelwald's soldiers would apparate into a public place - Diagon Alley - and fling a mandrake plant into a crowd. They killed hundreds like that - maybe thousands"

"The government banned their sale - a ban that hasn't been lifted since" Sally-Anne finished "There was a move to reverse the prohibition twenty years or so ago, but then Voldemort's first rise began and people got worried that The Death Eaters would start using the same tactic" 

"Wow" Hermione sighed.

"So they're going to have to grow the plants from scratch - Professor Sprout has special dispensation for educational purposes - and I'll be cured once they are full grown and ground up" Luna said "Believe me - I would much rather it happen sooner, but it will take as long as it takes"

"Okay" Hermione nodded "Do you want to us to collect your class notes and homework?"

xoxox

"Mr Potter? Was there something you didn't understand about the class?" Filius asked as Harry and Hermione stood in front of him. 

"Oh - no, sir" Harry shook his head "Your lesson on the unlocking charm was very clear" 

"Thank you" The professor smiled "So what can I help you with?"

"I was hoping you could help me - while Luna...... Miss Lovegood is in the hospital, I was going to collect any notes and home work assignments for her" 

"I understand the notes - I will collect all the notes together by the end of the week - but the homework assignments?" He paused "From what I understand, Miss Lovegood and the other...... students won't be out of the hospital any time soon"

"That is true" Harry nodded "However when she does wake up, having all the homework assignments she missed will help her catch up a lot more easily" He looked at Filius imploringly "Please, sir? What can it hurt?" Filius stared back at him, then shrugged.

"Very well - I will provide you with lesson plans and homework by the end of the week"

"Thank you sir" Harry smiled "Luna will appreciate this" He paused "When she wakes up, of course"

"Of course"

xoxox

"I got lesson plans from everyone apart from Snape" Harry said at the end of the week. He was sat in Luna's study, putting various folders on her desk "I realise that practising magic in The Dreamland is difficult because everything is so easy, but I thought knowing what the various classes will be over the next few weeks will ensure you don't fall too far behind"

"Thank you" Luna gave him a kiss on the cheek "Given how much free time I'm going to have, I will......" Harry looked up from the paper he was reading when Luna stopped talking.

"Luna? You stopped in the middle of a sentence. Is everything okay?"

"No" He realised she wasn't looking at him - she was staring into infinity "No - it's not" She paused, blinked a few times, then lowered her gaze and focused on him "It's happened again"

xoxox

"Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchley were found petrified this afternoon" Pomona Sprout stood in front of the fireplace in the Hufflepuff common room addressing all of her students "They were found near the toilet on the second floor where Mr Filch's cat was found last October" She paused "Professor Dumbledore has decided to increase the security around the school - students are no longer to go anywhere unescorted. Teachers will take you to and from your classes and to meals in The Great Hall"

"What about Quidditch practices?" Cedric asked.

"For the moment they will be allowed to continue - Professor Hooch will observe all practices, along with the Head of House for the team in question" Pomona paused "Professor Dumbledore is also going to bring in one or two experts to try to find out the cause of all these problems - in order to avoid any confusion, they will be given name badges and special robes"

"Will Hogwarts be closed?" Susan asked.

"There are no plans at the moment to close the school" Pomona said "However Professor Dumbledore will monitor the situation, and should the situation become more serious......." She trailed off "That's all the news I have at the moment, but remember - you are not permitted to go anywhere alone" She turned and left the common room, while Harry turned to Hermione.

"I want to go look at the place Hannah and Justin were found" He said quietly.

"You did hear Professor Sprout say that wasn't allowed, right?" Hermione gave him a wry smile, but he ignored her.

"Filch's cat and now two of our friends" He continued in the same, quiet voice "That toilet is where all this started - I think there is something there that could help us work out what is going on" 

"So how are we going to get there?" She asked "If we try to leave, the prefects will stop us" She realised he was smiling at her "Oh why do I think I am going to regret asking that?"

"What's the matter?" He grinned again "Don't you trust me?" 

xoxox

Ten minutes later, they were making their way along the second floor corridor, covered by Harry's invisibility cloak.

When they reached the toilet, Hermione pulled the cloak off, and she and Harry walked into the bathroom. 

"So any idea what we are looking for?" She asked as they looked around the toilet.

"I don't know" Harry admitted "I've never been in a girl's toilet before" 

"No one comes in here" Hermione said, glancing over her shoulder "Not if they can help it"

"Why?" 

"Because of ME!" Harry flinched backwards as something flew up to him, stopping directly in front of his face. Blinking, he focused to see the face of a young woman floating about in front of him.

"Who are you?" He asked, looking her up and down.

"Myrtle" 

"Moaning Myrtle" Hermione said at the same time "She's haunted this toilet ever since anyone can remember"

"I died here in 1945" Myrtle said "And that fool can't be bothered to exorcise me - he keeps telling me he will get round to it" She paused, then glared at them "Is that why you're here? To come and make fun of poor, little Myrtle? Come to throw things through her head? Twenty points for a nose! Fifty points for her mouth!"

"Why would we want to throw things at you?" Hermione asked.

"And wouldn't we get more points for your nose than your mouth? It's smaller, after all" Harry added under his breath, then flinched backwards as Myrtle came even closer.

"I KNEW YOU WERE JUST HERE TO MAKE FUN OF ME"

"We're not here to make fun of you" Hermione insisted "Ignore my friend - he is a boy, he can't help himself" Myrtle floated backwards, smiling "What did they throw at you?"

"A book - someone threw a book" Myrtle moaned, then floated over to a corner "It flew through the back of my head - I didn't see who it was - and landed here" Hermione bounded over to the corner and - after looking around for a few moments - picked up a small black, leather bound book. She glanced at it, then slipped it into her robes.

"Myrtle....." She began "Have you seen anything.... strange recently?"

"No!" Myrtle snapped, then - without another word - she flew into one of the cubicles and vanished. Hermione watched as a wave of water splashed all over the floor, then turned to Harry.

"That was Myrtle" 

"So I gathered" He paused "Has she always been......"

"So annoying?" Hermione asked, and he nodded "She died fifty years ago when she was in the middle of puberty" Hermione continued "Can you imagine how having to spend eternity as an adolescent must be?"

"I suppose" Harry shrugged "So what's the book?"

xoxox

"A diary?" Luna asked. Hermione and Harry were telling her all about their adventure "Can you...... can you conjure up an image of it?" Hermione closed her eyes, then a moment later, the book appeared on the table in front of them.

"That's it" Harry nodded. Luna reached out and picked it up, flicking through it.

"It's blank" She looked up "Is the real one blank?"

"Yes" Hermione nodded "But watch this......" She picked up a pen from the desk, opened the diary and wrote 'My name is Hermione Jane Granger' in it.

"Very impressive - a diary you can write in" Luna said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"Wait a moment" Hermione rolled her eyes, then pointed down to the diary where the words 'Hello, Hermione, my name is Tom Riddle' had appeared.

"Woah" Luna stood up, backing away from the diary "That's not right" 

"Luna?" Harry stood up and walked over to her, taking her hand "Are you okay?"

"That's..... that's......." She paused "I don't know what that is, but it's wrong"

"Are you sure?" Hermione blinked in surprise "It's not just some kind of joke product? One that replies to whatever you say with a set of stock phrases?" Luna stared at her, then looked at the book, then looked back at Hermione.

"No. Whatever it is, it's...... wrong. I don't know why, or what it is, but it's wrong" She paused "You should stop writing in it - both of you. And don't let any of the others write in it either"

"Okay" Harry nodded, then looked back at the diary "Have you ever heard of Tom Riddle?" 

"Doesn't ring a bell" Luna shrugged "But Hogwarts has had its history of pranksters and tricksters - if he's one of them, he could've created a book like this" She paused "I suppose it could be an experiment in advanced charms as well"

"Creating a fully functioning artificial intelligence is the holy grail of computing in the non-magical world" Hermione said "And from what I can tell, this is fairly intelligent" She paused "It would pass the Turing Test hands down"

"Turing test?" Luna asked.

"If you can talk to something and not be sure whether it is human or artificial, it passes the Turing Test" Hermione said "If this is the product of a charm, it is very, very impressive"

"And a little scary" Luna added "Please - don't write in it again" 

"I promise - we won't" Harry replied. Luna stared at the diary for a moment, then walked over and sat down again. She reached out and picked the book up, turning it over in her hands.

"Can I ask a favour?" She looked up at them "Can you....... this is going to seem odd"

"You? Odd?" Harry quirked an eyebrow at her "Surely not" Luna stuck her tongue out at him "What's the favour, sweetie?"

"I can't come and see this diary in the real world - not for a little while yet" Luna said "So I was wondering if you could bring it to me - maybe slip it under my pillow or the covers in the infirmary?"

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe if I can get some physical contact - if it I can touch it, so to speak - I can get more insight into it" She paused, realising Hermione was staring at her as if she was crazy "You think I'm crazy, right?"

"Of course not" Hermione said reflexively, making Harry laugh.

"Could you sound more convincing, sweetie?" He said with a smirk.

"Okay - yes, it sounds a little crazy" Hermione admitted "But then again you are a twelve year old girl who can see the future, so who am I to question your motives" 

"I'll bring it by tomorrow night, just before bed" Harry said.

"Not during the day?" Luna asked hopefully.

"If you want - but they are replaying the Quidditch match that was abandoned when you were found" Harry looked at her apologetically "The Mighty Badgers of Doom are taking on The Glorious Snakes of Eternity and we really should be there"

"Okay" Luna nodded "I suppose that's a good enough reason for abandoning me" She smirked "I suggest sitting with Neville and Sally-Anne, by the way. I think you'll get a much better view that way"

xoxox

".....as Diggory swings across the park, Malfoy moves in behind him" Lee Jordan's voice boomed out through the stadium "While I am not one to make sarcastic comments about players....." A ripple of laughter ran through the stands ".....it looks to me like the newest member of the fraternity of seekers is not up to the job, and is just spending time following his older, more experienced comrade around" There were some boos from the Slytherin stands, 

"The Hufflepuff Chasers move into a Wifflepoof Corkscrew Combination, barrelling down the field almost faster than the eye can see..... but wait..... has Diggory seen something?" Lee fell silent for a moment "He's bent low, over the broom, shooting towards the Hufflepuff stands....." 

"Oh dear" Hermione leaned forward, then pointed to where Malfoy was flying right behind Cedric "That's not going to end well"

"I think...... yes - I think Diggory has seen the snitch and - judging from his actions - I think Malfoy thinks so as well" Lee continued "Diggory flies fast and low..... Malfoy pulls level with him..... DIGGORY PULLS UP!" There was a massive crunch, and a few screams and cries of surprise "DIGGORY CATCHES THE SNITCH while..... I think we need Madame Pomfrey in the Hufflepuff stands, as well as a few of the staff" 

"That's got to hurt" Neville stared at the prone form of Malfoy, lying across the Hufflepuff stands where he had crashed into them a few seconds earlier.

"I think the damage to his broom is probably going to hurt more" Sally-Anne pointed over to where three different students were holding bits of Malfoy's broom.

"Want to bet?" Hermione smirked as they watched Lockhart bounded over to where Malfoy was lying and drew his wand. They saw Lockhart make a few movements, then there was a burst of "ews" and "urghs" from the surrounding students. Lockhart lowered his wand, looking slightly sheepish, then he gave Malfoy a winning smile.

"So what do you think he did?" Sally-Anne asked.

xoxox

"He removed all the bones in his arm?" Hagrid stared at the four friends. After the match had ended, Hagrid had invited them all back to his hut for tea - Filius and Pomona had agreed as long as he escorted them back to their dorms after they were finished.

"Yeah" Hermione nodded, looking slightly disgusted "According to the reports, he could bend his arm back - almost tie it in a knot"

"Oh dear, oh dear" Hagrid shook his head "Will Madame Pomfrey be able to fix him? To regrow his bones?"

"Using Skele-grow" Neville nodded "But it will be very painful - a lot worse than fixing a broken arm" He shook his head "Maybe that will teach Lockhart not to stick his nose where it's not wanted"

"You don't like Professor Lockhart? You don't think he's a good teacher?" Hagrid looked at them in confusion. 

"Luna gave him the nickname Two Planks after the first few lessons" Sally-Anne explained, then - at Hagrid's confused expression - added "She said we could put him together and make one long plank" Hagrid still look confused, making Sally-Anne shake her head "It's a muggle expression - thick as two short planks"

"Ah" Hagrid nodded.

"We just think that - compared to the character he presents in his books - he is a bit useless" Harry said with a shrug "So unless he is deliberately hiding his lantern under a bushel, something is up" He paused "Anyway - Malfoy will be all better by tomorrow morning, more's the pity, and Lockhart can pass it off as an accident" There was a knock at the door, and Hagrid picked up his crossbow before walking over to answer it.

"Ah - Hagrid" Dumbledore said in a polite voice "May we come in?" 

"Of course, Headmaster" Hagrid lowered the crossbow, then took a step back. Harry and the others turned as first Dumbledore then a man in a lime green suit and an equally green bowler hat come in.

"Mr Potter?" Dumbledore stared at Harry and his friends "May I ask why you are here?"

"Hagrid invited us for tea, Professor" Harry replied "Professors Sprout and Flitwick both said it would be okay, as long as we are escorted back to our dorms"

"I am sure they did, however I must ask you to return to your dormitories now. The Minister for Magic and I have business with Professor Hagrid"

"Sir - do you want us to return on our own?" Neville asked "Because I thought we were not permitted to go anywhere unescorted, what with the attacks and all" Dumbledore stared at him, then looked at the man who had entered with him.

"Minister - Mr Longbottom is correct. Due to the attacks that you are here about, the students are not permitted to roam the grounds unescorted for their own safety"

"Very well, Dumbledore" The Minister said dismissively "Our business can't be postponed, I am afraid, so if they are to stay here, they must stay quiet" He gave them the once over, then turned to face Hagrid.

"Rubeus Hagrid - following the attacks, and your part in them fifty years ago, it has been decided that you are to be taken into custody pending a complete investigation"

"You think Hagrid's to blame?" Sally-Anne asked in disbelief.

"Quiet, girl" The Minister snapped.

"Headmaster.... you can't let them..... not Azkaban" Hagrid looked at Dumbledore, his voice pleading.

"I am sorry, Hagrid, but I am afraid this has been taken out of my hands" Dumbledore said apologetically "Given your history, and your involvement, Minister Fudge has got the full backing of The DMLE and The Wizengamot, as well as The Board"

"That group of pureblood bigots?" Neville snorted.

"Mr Longbottom....." Dumbledore started, but Neville simply turned to look at Hagrid.

"I can talk to my mother, Hagrid - I'll see what I can do"

"Thank you, Neville" Hagrid gave him a weak smile.

"And what would The Daily Prophet make of Harry Potter's favourite staff member being arrested just because The Ministry want to be seen to be doing something?" Hermione asked flatly.

"Are you threatening me, Miss....."

"Hermione Jane Granger, Minister" Hermione said "And if The Ministry can't explain its actions to the press then how good can those actions be?" 

"Hagrid was implicated the last time The Chamber was opened" Fudge snapped "Now there are more attacks - if The Ministry does not take action against the only suspect, I will become a laughing stock - people will lose faith in their Minister and their Ministry, and I can not allow that" He paused "Now - I will overlook your rudeness, and the disrespect you are showing, and I will not hold it against you in the future. But Mr Hagrid will be coming with me tonight, or I will be forced to take far more drastic action to ensure the safety of the students" He glared at the four children "Action that would include closing down the school, and detaining those who would interfere with Ministry business"

"Harry - Harry, it's okay" Hagrid held his hands up "I will go with Minister Fudge - it's for the best" 

"But Hagrid....."

"No, Harry, I'll be alright" Hagrid said quietly "They won't hurt me - they'll just make sure I am not a threat" He looked at Fudge "Minister - I'm ready"

"You've made the right choice, Mr Hagrid" Fudge said, smiling brightly "I'm sure we will get this sorted out quickly" 

"Harry, Hermione - if you want to know more, try following the spiders" Hagrid said, then - as he realised he was still holding the crossbow - he put it down, took his jacket from the hook by the door, and put it on "Minister - I am ready to go" 

"Headmaster - do you wish to accompany us back to the gate, or are you going to escort the students back to their common rooms?" Fudge asked.

"I believe I will escort the students, Cornelius" Dumbledore replied "I am sure that Rubeus will not cause you any trouble"

"I won't, Headmaster" Hagrid said sincerely.

"Very well then - Mr Hagrid, after you" Fudge followed Hagrid out of his hut. When the door had closed, Dumbledore turned to the four students.

"Now - I believe it is time that I return you to your common rooms" He said in a kindly voice.

"Professor - you are also the head of The Wizengamot, aren't you?" Hermione asked.

"That is one of my duties, yes Miss Granger"

"Then how can you let a politician - not even a law enforcement agent - arrest someone just because he is afraid that people will lose faith in him if he doesn't?"

"The Minister has the ultimate responsibility for governing the country, Miss Granger" Dumbledore said as he opened the door and let them file out of the hut "And while I do have some level of authority over law and order, I am afraid my power is somewhat limited in this case"

"So The Minister can just lock up anyone he wants just because he feels like it?" Hermione couldn't help the sneering tone in her voice "The non-magical world has a word for that - dictatorship, tyranny, corruption"

"That's three words, Miss Granger" Dumbledore responded in a flat tone "Mr Longbottom, Miss Perks - I believe we should take Mr Potter and Miss Granger back to Hufflepuff common room first, if that is acceptable?"

"Yes, sir" Sally-Anne nodded as they walked into The Entrance Hall.

"I was hoping we could go via The Infirmary, sir" Harry said "I wanted to visit Luna - make sure she is alright"

"Miss Lovegood will be fine, Mr Potter" Dumbledore replied without stopping "And I am sure you will be able to visit her tomorrow or the day after"

"But sir...."

"Mr Potter - you and your friends have already insulted and offended The Minister of Magic. I would advise you not to press me on this issue" Dumbledore stared at him for a moment, then turned back and continued leading them through the school.

A few minutes later they stopped in front of a portrait of a group of women picking fruit. 

"Mr Potter, Miss Granger - while I understand the security of the common rooms usually means you do not announce the password in front of........"

"Ritardando" Hermione said before Dumbledore could finish. The portrait swung open, and she smiled.

"Good night, Neville, Sally - we'll see you tomorrow"

"Night night" Sally-Anne waved, then she and Neville followed Dumbledore off down the corridor. Once they were out of sight, Harry turned to Hermione.

"I'm taking the diary to Luna" He said in a near silent voice "You can either come with me, or meet me at Farhang"

"I'll come with you" She said "We're more likely to spot a monster if there are two of us" 

"True" He smiled at her "I'm just going to go and get the cloak - I'll be right back" He vanished in to the common room, while Hermione looked up and down the corridor. She paced back and forth for a few minutes, then turned as the portrait swung open again and Harry stepped out.

"Okay - lets go" He said, flinging the cape over both of them.

xoxox

Twenty minutes later, after a somewhat circuitous route, they snuck into the infirmary and up to Luna's bedside.

"She really does look very peaceful" Harry said "Almost as if she is sleeping" He slipped his hand into his robes and pulled out the diary, then he turned to Hermione.

"I don't think I should....... we don't know what she's wearing, and it would be..... wrong" He explained. Hermione nodded, then she slipped the diary under the covers, so that it was resting under Luna's hand.

"I guess we should go back and go to Farhang to see whether that worked" She said.

"Yes" Harry nodded, then he leaned down and kissed Luna on the forehead "Take care, sweetie" He whispered, then straightened up.

"Okay - lets go"

xoxox

They made it back to the common room without incident, and Harry slipped the cloak off them.

"So - bed?"

"Mr Potter - are you propositioning me?" Hermione smirked at him.

"Yes - I am going to make you come upstairs to bed with me so you can watch me droll into my pillow all night" He replied in a deadpan voice "By the way - have you tried putting yourself to sleep yet?"

"Pardon me?" 

"Luna taught me a way to send myself to sleep quickly if I needed to" He explained "You know how you create a vault? So that Dumbledore and his winged monkeys can't read your mind?"

"Yes" She nodded.

"Well - it's like that. You pick a room in your castle, or in The Nexus, and in your mind you associate it with a phrase. Then, when you say the phrase in the real world, it will put you to sleep" 

"Really?" Hermione blinked "I can see how that could be useful"

"And the good thing is, it doesn't matter what phrase you use, because you have to be prepared to go to sleep in order for it to work" Harry smiled "Generally you need to be lying down, relaxed and with as a clear a mind as possible" He paused "Sometimes the last bit can be a bit tricky, but I tend to think about The Black Lake - just picture the surface of it - and that usually puts me right out"

"I will give it a try - I can use any phrase?"

"Anything. Mine is 'The Key Is The Link, The Link Must Be Severed' if that helps" He folded the cloak over his arm, then yawned "Sorry - I guess I am more tired than I thought"

"Then go sleep. I will go up and join you in The Nexus in a little while" 

"Gondolin - Luna can't make it to The Nexus just now" Harry corrected softly.

"Yes, sorry" Hermione shook her head "I'll set my room up at my castle, then come join you" 

"We'll be waiting" Harry smiled.

xoxox

"Did it work?" Harry asked, walking into Luna's private study.

"I can feel it - I am still not sure if I can get into it, but I can feel it" She smiled "I'll try tomorrow while you are in class"

"Okay" Harry shrugged "Hermione will be here shortly - I told her about inducing a dream state, so she is setting up a room at the moment"

"Excellent" She smiled "I also have something I need to tell the five of you, but I'd rather do it all in one go, if that's okay?"

"We are entirely at your disposal, Miss Lovegood" Harry grinned.

"Speak for yourself" Blaise said as she and Sally-Anne walked in to the room "I had plans for tonight - I was going to go and hunt me some spiders" Luna snorted in amusement "Something funny?"

"As I said before, when you are a seer, irony abounds in more places than you might think" Luna paused "And here are our stragglers" She turned as Neville and Hermione came in "Okay - apparently Blaise and Sally-Anne are going on a spider hunt, and I am sure the rest of you have things you want to do, but there's something I need to show you first" 

"Apparently it's ironic and amusing" Blaise supplied.

"For those of you who are Blaise, and so were not there when Hagrid was arrested......"

"HAGRID WAS ARRESTED?" Blaise asked in surprise.

"Apparently he was suspected of opening The Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago"

"When Myrtle died?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Yeah" Luna nodded "From the limited amount I've seen, I think whatever has been attacking the students was what killed Myrtle" She paused "Anyway - Fudge thinks Hagrid is connected to this, so he took him away last night. These four were having tea with him after the match, so they witnessed the arrest" Blaise looked at them.

"I'm going to write to my mother" Neville said "It's insane to think Hagrid had anything to do with this"

"There's also The Prophet" Harry added.

"My.... well my Dad served on The Wizengamot, but the general feeling in Slytherin - hell, in most of the pureblood world - is that Hagrid is an uncouth oaf who should be forced out of the school and - in a perfect world - put to death" Blaise paused "If I speak up for him, it won't end well for me"

"Don't worry about it" Hermione said with a kind smile "We'll take any support we can get, even if it's just moral" Blaise smiled back at her.

"Anyway - setting aside the campaign to free The Hogwarts One - there's something more pressing" Luna looked over at Harry and Hermione "Do you remember what he said? Just before he left?"

"That if we wanted to learn the truth, we should follow the spiders?" Hermione replied, and Luna nodded "Should we?"

"No" Luna shook her head emphatically "Not under any circumstances" She paused, then waved her hand - making an image appear on the far wall of the study.

_Hermione and Harry were walking through the grounds. They are both under his cloak, following a line of spiders into The Forbidden Forest._

_"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hermione said in a low voice._

_"Hagrid told us to follow the spiders" Harry replied "And if we want to get him released from Azkaban, we have to do something"_

_"I suppose" Hermione stared at the forest ahead of them, then shivered slightly._

Luna paused in retelling her story, then looked at Harry.

"First lesson - always listen to Hermione. For someone who isn't in the smart kids' house, she is surprisingly bright"

"Why thank you" Hermione gave a slight curtsey. 

_Harry and Hermione walked into a glade covered in webs and hanging branches._

_"Well this is not creepy at all" Harry said, looking around._

_"What are we supposed to learn?" Hermione asked, then they both looked forward as a voice - a voice older than any that had heard before - came from the far side of the hollow._

_"Why have you come here?" The voice asked._

_"Hagrid sent us. There is a creature attacking the students and The Ministry have taken him away. They think he is to blame" Harry said firmly "He thought you might be able to help us"_

_"Hagrid is not to blame. He did not release the monster that is currently stalking the halls of your school" The voice moved, and both Harry and Hermione had to steady themselves as the largest, creepiest spider they had ever seen slowly emerged into view "The creature is our oldest, greatest enemy - one that has plagued us since time began"_

_"What is it?" Hermione asked._

_"Knowing won't do you any good" The spider said in a low hiss "Hagrid has never sent children into my family's home before - and it has been an age since we last had something so fresh and so good to eat" The creature then gave a series of low hisses, and suddenly the entire glade seemed to come alive with movement._

_"We should go" Harry said, but before she could move, a dark shape fell out of the tree above and crushed her to death._

"Woah" Hermione jumped backwards as she saw herself crushed by a spider the size of a St Bernard. 

"It gets worse" Luna said.

"I just saw myself crushed to death by a giant, man eating spider" Hermione said "How much worse can it get for me?"

"I didn't say it got worse for you" Luna replied.

_Harry is running through the woods as fast as he can, and from the angle they are watching, everyone can see the HUGE cloud of blackness behind him._

_Still a few minutes ahead of the horde, Harry bursts out of the forest and runs across towards the castle._

_Just as he reaches the door, the spider horde catches up with him, sending him crashing into the door._

"Suffice to say, Harry died" Luna paused "And, since Hagrid was gone, the acromantula patriarch felt no need to show any type of restraint" 

"How many?" Blaise asked, but Luna simply gazed at her "Everyone?" 

"The whole school - every student, every teacher, every house-elf and every other living thing" Luna nodded sadly. 

The room stayed silent for a moment, then Luna looked over at Harry and Hermione.

"So - still want to follow the spiders?"


	10. A Shadow In Gondolin

"The freezing charm can be used in any number of situations" Filius looked around the classroom as he continued his lecture "But the most common uses are as follows....."

xoxox

"As The Mandrakes are starting to move into adolescence, we are going to re-pot them" Pomona looked around the greenhouse as the Ravenclaw and Slytherin students "Please ensure you are all wearing your protective earmuffs - while they are not yet at the stage that they can kill, The Mandrakes' cry will knock you out for hours and I am sure you all have better things to be doing this evening than being unconscious" There were a few laughs "Okay then - first step, check your earmuffs and your gloves...."

xoxox

Luna walked into her private study in Gondolin, and looked at the diary on the table. Ever since Harry had slipped it into her bed the previous night, she had felt it invading her mind - pervading every part of it. 

"I guess it's time I deal with you, then" She said to herself. Walking over, she picked up the small, black book and strode over to the wall on the far side. She leaned over, and placed the diary at the foot of the wall, then took a few steps back.

"Okay. Show me"

xoxox

"Mr Potter" Flitwick looked down at where Harry and Hermione were sat next to each other, both making notes "Can you describe the effects of the freezing charm on a fire?"

"Yes, Professor" Harry nodded. Filius stared at him for a moment, then smiled.

"Well - I am glad you can describe them, Mr Potter, but if you wouldn't mind describing them out loud, I am sure your classmates would appreciate it a little more" Everyone laughed, making Harry blush.

"Yes sir" He paused, taking a breath "When a witch or a...... when a...... when a wizard......" He trailed off, shaking his head, then suddenly his head shot up, and he turned to stare at Hermione. She stared back at him, eyes full of panic.

xoxox

"Did you hear that?" Neville looked at Sally-Anne.

"Someone screamed" She replied, looking around "But it wasn't someone here" She glanced across the trestle table and realised Neville was not the only one staring back at her. Blaise was looking at her with a panicked expression.

xoxox

"Mr Potter?" Filius walked over to their desk "Are you feeling alright?"

"No, Professor" Harry shook his head, still staring at Hermione "I'm feeling a little dizzy - do you mind if Hermione escorts me to see Madame Pomfrey?" 

"Are you sure....." Filius started, but Hermione began to put her stuff into her bag.

"If he's feeling dizzy, sir, I should go with him. If he trips and falls......"

"Of course" Filius nodded "Go" Hermione finished putting her stuff away, then took Harry's bag.

"Careful - don't stand up too quickly" She said, holding her arm out. Harry took it and got to his feet.

xoxox

"Professor Sprout?" Neville raised his hand "Sally-Anne is feeling a little faint - I think her earmuffs may have been not placed correctly"

"Yes, yes - take her to Madame Pomfrey" Sprout waved her hand dismissively "And be careful while you are still in the greenhouse"

"Yes, Professor" Neville nodded, then walked back to where Sally-Anne had packed her bag away. He reached down and picked up both her bag and his, then - slinging one over his shoulder - he held his arm out. 

"We have to get her out" Sally-Anne whispered "Whatever is going on, she's a part of it"

"Leave it to me" He whispered back, then - as they reached the end of the table, Neville raised his hand and - with an apologetic look at the back of Terry Boot's head, flicked the boy's earmuffs off, then he kicked the table, making every single mandrake scream.

xoxox

After the door had closed behind them, Harry and Hermione both started running.

"You heard?"

"The scream?" Hermione asked, and Harry nodded "But no one else did"

"So that means it's one of us" Harry replied, then they skidded to a halt in front of The Hufflepuff Common Room.

"Draxus Manalatha" Hermione said quickly, and the portrait swung open. 

xoxox

"Thank you" Blaise caught up with Neville and Sally-Anne as they reached Ravenclaw Tower "I don't think anyone saw me leave"

"You're welcome" Sally-Anne replied "We thought you'd want to come with us" 

"Do you know who it is?" Blaise asked as Neville gave the password to open the portrait.

"No - but if it was just the three of us, it can only be one of the other three" Neville looked over his shoulder "And unless we want to get the staff involved, The Dreamland is the best way to find them" He lead Sally-Anne and Blaise over to the stairs.

"Go inside and lie down on one of the beds" He said, pointing to the stairs towards the girls' bedroom "I'll meet you at The Nexus" 

"Nuh-uh" Blaise shook her head "We stay together - I'm not having you wandering off" Neville stared at her for a moment, then shrugged.

"Then come with me"

xoxox

Harry and Hermione burst into Harry's dorm, and flung themselves onto two of the beds.

"The Nexus?" Harry asked.

"The Nexus" Hermione replied, then she closed her eyes and started to slow her breathing down. 

xoxox

"Take a bed" Neville waved the girls to two of the other beds, then lay down on his and closed his eyes.

xoxox

"The bearers crossed the sea to where the people don't die"  
"The key is the link, the link must be severed"

xoxox

"All things die, even stars burn out"  
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"  
"Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead"

xoxox

Harry found himself stood on the roof of The Nexus, then he looked around as Neville, Blaise, Hermione and Sally-Anne all flashed into view around him.

"We're all here?" He asked "You're all okay?" They all nodded "But you all heard the same thing?"

"It was a REALLY loud scream in my mind" Neville said.

"But only we heard it" Blaise added "So it wasn't the mandrakes"

"Luna" Neville said "Do you think she's okay?" Hermione looked over in the direction where Gondolin lay.

"No" She said "I don't think she is" She raised her hand and pointed to dark clouds that were billowing around the location of Luna's castle "That doesn't look good"

"She's lying petrified in the hospital wing, and she is The Regent of The Dreamland" Harry pointed out "How much trouble can she really get in to?" 

"I think we should find out" Hermione said "Because anything that can make her scream that loud is not something I want to meet in a dark alley" She looked around "Or even in a bright castle" She raised her fingers to her lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle. 

"Do you think we need some kind of bat-signal, by the way?" Harry asked, looking around "To summon all the steeds at once?"

"Let's put that on a list of things to do" Hermione replied as Galadriel flew down and landed on the roof beside her "But for now, we should go look in on Luna" She paused "Plus - this is The Dreamland" 

"And?" 

"And I am smarter than the average bear" Hermione grinned as Sir Hugsalot, Cathedra, Issi Noho and Caladan flew down and landed next to their various riders "Shall we?"

xoxox

Less than five minutes later, all five creatures flew down towards Gondolin, only to stop a few yards out.

"That's new, right?" Blaise looked at her friends "I mean - I know I am new to The Dreamland, but that doesn't look like it belongs" She looked back at the large black spherical shield that now completely enclosed the castle, then up at the nearly jet black storm clouds that were billowing above Luna's home.

"No - it's not right" Hermione looked around "Do you think it's safe? To go through, I mean?"

"Only one way to find out" Harry spurred Hugsalot forward, and a moment later vanished inside the forcefield surrounding the castle. His friends stared at the point he had vanished, then they all let out a sigh of relief as his head reappeared "What are you waiting for?" He vanished again.

"What are we waiting for?" Hermione looked at the others, then spurred her horse forward, followed by the other three.

xoxox

"LUNA?" Harry shouted as loud as he could, then let out an almost palpable sigh of relief as he saw a flash in the window of her private study. 

"She's in her study" He called out to his friends as they landed "Everyone suit up - whatever's up there is dangerous" 

"Yes boss" The others replied, making him smile.

"I know you can't die up here, but be careful" Harry added.

"Yes boss" They repeated.

xoxox

"You can't win, you know" Luna stared at the shapeless form in front of her "No matter what you do, I will only grow stronger. I am a part of you now - a part of your mind, a part of your soul. You can't stop me" 

"I'd like to test that theory" Harry yelled, charging into the study waving his sword. He crashed into the form, knocking it to the ground.

"Luna - are you okay?" Hermione and Neville ran over to crouch next to Luna, while Sally-Anne and Blaise moved to back up Harry against the shadow.

"I'm okay" Luna said in a weak voice.

"What is that?" Neville asked, glancing over to where Harry was whacking the shadow on the head with his sword.

"It's........" Luna took a breath "It's the diary"

"The diary?" Hermione asked.

"I created a..... a program in the wall to interact with the diary" Luna said, her voice getting stronger "But the more I spoke to it, the stronger it became" She paused "It was like I was pouring my soul into it"

"That would explain why it fights so well" Blaise said, thrusting her sword upwards into the shadow's arm. 

"I asked it to show me what happened when Hagrid was expelled - I watched as a boy named Tom Riddle set Hagrid up and got him kicked out after Moaning Myrtle was killed by the basilisk" She paused "But as the memory seemed to come to an end, the projection suddenly exploded out of the screen I had created and the boy - Tom Riddle - was here in front of me"

"That's Tom Riddle?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, looking at the somewhat amorphous blob that was fighting three of her friends.

"The more I fought it, the less shapeful it got" Luna shivered "It was like it was absorbing the worst parts of me - my hate, my loathing, my anger...." She shook her head "And it was winning - if you hadn't arrived when you did......"

"DESPAIR AND DIE!" Harry yelled, and Luna, Hermione and Neville looked round to see Harry kick the shape back into the wall, where it vanished. 

"My hero!" Luna called out, clasping her hands to her chest "But we're not done yet" She slowly pushed herself to her feet. 

"We're not?" Harry looked round as Luna walked over to stand next to him. 

"No, we're not" Luna paused "Listen very carefully - I will say this only once" She took a single breath "I was wrong"

"Wrong?" Hermione quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I asked you to bring the diary to me - to put it in direct contact with me" Luna looked at them "That was a mistake - that's what allowed it to do this" She waved at the wall, that was still covered in dancing shadows.

"I thought the diary was some kind of charm, or spell" She continued "An exceptionally powerful charm, but just a charm" 

"And it's not?" Blaise asked, looking at the wall. 

"No - whatever it is, it's a living, breathing, thinking mind" Luna stared at the wall darkly "It isn't replicating or mimicking a human mind - it is another human mind" Harry, Sally-Anne and Blaise all took a step back, away from the shadows.

"Someone put a human mind inside an inanimate object?" Neville asked "Is that even possible?"

"Not normally - to trap your essence, your soul inside an inanimate object is a crime against nature" Luna continued to stare at the wall "Whoever this Tom Riddle is........" She trailed off, shaking her head "I need you to get it away from me, now. The longer is stays in contact with me - with my skin - the more dangerous it will get, and eventually it will come out of that wall again"

"Okay" Harry turned to face the others "Where are you three?"

"Ravenclaw Tower" Neville replied "Second year boys dorm" 

"All three of you?" Harry smirked.

"Like Hermione isn't lying in the bed next to you" Neville replied with a laugh.

"Never mind" Harry said quickly then shook his head "Hermione, take my cloak and meet Blaise and Neville at Ravenclaw Tower. The three of you need to go to the infirmary and get rid of the diary"

"Get rid of it where?" Neville asked.

"I don't care - just get it away from Luna as soon as you can" He paused "Put it back in Myrtle's loo for all I care - just get it away from her" 

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked.

"Sally-Anne and I are going to stay here and protect Luna from that wall" Harry replied "Come back when you're done, and we'll make sure it's gone for good" 

"Yes, boss" Hermione smiled, then looked at Blaise and Neville "Ready to wake up?" 

"Let's go" He said, then a moment later faded out of view. A second later, Blaise vanished as well, then Hermione turned to Harry, Luna and Sally-Anne.

"We'll be back as soon as we can" She said, then she too vanished. 

"And then there were three" Luna smiled a dry smile, then looked at the wall "Stay with me?"

"Always" Harry replied quietly, then frowned "What's a basilisk?"

xoxox

Hermione crept along the corridor, then speeded up slightly when she saw Neville and Blaise waiting for her.

"Guys - I'm here" She called out, then flipped the hood of the cloak back for a brief instant. Neville and Blaise walked over, and she flipped the cloak over them.

"I know you haven't had a lot of practice, but we all step at the same time, the cloak should cover the three of us" She whispered "The key thing is to act like we belong. That we are part of the air"

"Huh?" Neville asked.

"People tend to notice a large patch of nothing moving through the air" Blaise said "But if we act like we are just another patch of air, people should pay less attention" 

"Smart girl" Hermione smiled.

"You learn things in the House of Cunning" Blaise smirked.

"The other thing you should remember is that - as a rule - the air doesn't talk" Hermione responded "If you need to get my attention, tug on my jumper. Same thing for Neville. From now on - quiet, until we are finished"

"Okay" Neville whispered, then fell silent as they moved towards the main stairway.

xoxox

"That's what's hunting the students?" Sally-Anne asked, slightly horrified "A giant snake that can kill with the power of its eyes?"

"From what I saw in Tom Riddle's memory, yeah - that's what's loose in Hogwarts now" Luna sighed.

"Then why isn't anyone dead?" Harry glanced over his shoulder to the sofa Luna was resting on "If this creature is so...... deadly, then why hasn't anyone died?"

"That's a good question" Luna said "I hadn't thought about it much - the whole Shadow Lord trying to kill me thing had me a little distracted" 

"The water" Sally-Anne said suddenly "What if Mrs Norris and the others - what if they saw the reflection of this thing's eyes?" She paused "Would that reduce the lethalicity of the stare?"

"It might" Luna looked at her thoughtfully "And if the others saw it through the ghosts..... that could also have had the same effect" 

"So it could just be - for want of a better phrase - blind luck that no one has been hurt?" Blaise asked, then - with a quick glance at Luna - added "Relatively speaking I mean"

"It may well be" Luna nodded, then she looked back at the wall "And aside from the occasional shadow creature trying to kill me, this is kind of restful" She paused "Not that I don't want to get out of here"

"We understand" Harry smiled, then he looked back at the wall "So - did you learn anything else about this Tom Riddle person?"

xoxox

"Ready?" Hermione whispered.

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Okay - we go in, get it and get out as fast as we can" Hermione continued "If we see Madame Pomfrey, we freeze until she goes away" She felt Neville nod, then she started creeping forward. 

xoxox

"How's he controlling the basilisk?" Sally-Anne asked "I mean - if he is a disembodied spirit, how can he direct a magical monster to attack certain students?" 

"And how can he direct a magical monster anyway?" Harry added "Does he speak snake?" 

"All good questions" Luna admitted "And if we could talk to this Tom boy without him becoming a dark lord and trying to possess me - or kill me - then we would probably find out more" She sighed "I don't suppose either of you recognise the name?" Harry gazed at her for a few moments, then shook his head.

"Sorry" He said apologetically

"It does sound a little familiar, but I can't think of it of the top of my head" Sally-Anne shrugged "Maybe the library will have something on him"

"Well - you can look tomorrow........" Luna started, then suddenly she jumped to her feet "Oh yes! YES! YES! YEEEEEESSSSSS!" She pointed to the wall and Harry and Sally-Anne turned to see that the shadows were fading.

"Is it going?" Harry looked round at her.

"Oh yes" Luna exhaled slowly "I don't know what they've done, but I do know they've got it away from me" She flopped back into the chair and closed her eyes "Oh you have no idea how good that feels"

"Lu......" Harry started, and Luna opened her eyes and looked across at him.

"No" She said simply. 

"How do you know what I was going to ask?" Harry asked, then he rolled his eyes "Never mind. But you really can't tell us anything else?"

"I can use your combined memories of the diary to create as realistic a version as possible, but now that I know it's the real thing - that it's a human soul trapped in an object - there is no way I can match the reality" She looked at him apologetically "Not without getting back in touch with it again, and while I love you all and would live and die to save you, I am not touching that thing ever again"

"I can imagine" Sally-Anne said with a sympathetic smile "And don't worry - we can investigate Tom Riddle, and try to work out where the basilisk is coming from, using normal, every day mundane methods such as books and our eyes"

"The tools of champions" Luna said with a slight laugh "I would offer to help, but until they de-petrify me........"

"We'll be fine" Harry walked over and sat down on the arm of her chair, taking her hand in his "You just concentrate on not getting possessed, turning dark and killing us all in our sleep" 

"I will get right on that" She looked up into his eyes "Thank you - for coming to rescue me"

"It's what I do" He replied casually, but she squeezed his hand.

"I mean it - I really thought that that thing was going to destroy me, and that the next time you saw me I would be a dark lord of the sith, trying to kill the mudbloods and muggle-lovers" She shivered "Which would have sucked"

xoxox

"Who's there?" Myrtle yelled as the door to her toilet slowly creaked open.

"It's us, Myrtle" Hermione flipped the cloak off her and her friends, then walked into the centre of the toilet "Can I ask you something?"

"You want to talk to me?" Myrtle asked "What do you want to talk to me for?"

"It's about this" Hermione held the diary up "Do you remember this?"

"Of course I remember that - I'm not slow you know - I was in Ravenclaw" Myrtle sneered at her.

"Then, as a fellow Ravenclaw, I was hoping you could tell us what you know about it" Neville said, taking the diary from Hermione and walking up to where Myrtle was floating back and forth. 

"Someone threw it at me and ran away" Myrtle snapped.

"You didn't see who?" Blaise asked hopefully.

"I would have said if I had!" 

"Don't yell at us!" Hermione said calmly but firmly "This book just tried to possess and kill our friend, and from what we can tell it appears to have a human soul trapped in it"

"It's a HORCRUX?" Myrtle's voice was just above a whisper, and she was staring at the diary with a look of horrified fascination.

"What's a horcrux?" Hermione asked.

xoxox

"So what's a horcrux?" Luna asked after Hermione, Neville and Blaise arrived back at Gondolin.

"Some of the darkest magic in the known world" Hermione sat down on the sofa "It's a way of ensuring that you don't move on when you die, meaning you are more or less immortal"

"How? I mean - if you die, you're dead, aren't you?" Luna frowned in confusion.

"A horcrux - which is what this diary is, if Myrtle is to be believed - allows you to store a part of your soul in an inanimate object" Neville explained "And because that part of your soul is locked down - anchored to this mortal coil, so to speak - the rest of your soul can't move on. So it just..... hangs around"

"Let me guess" Harry sighed "There is a ritual to bring you back to life?" 

"Myrtle wasn't sure - she just knows about the first part" Blaise said "But I would imagine whoever dreamed up this cockamamie idea would have ensured they could get back to being human - or as human as you can be with half your soul stuffed into a piece of crap" 

"So whoever this Tom Riddle is he made one of these horcruxes?" Sally-Anne asked "And someone's got hold of it?"

"Apparently" Hermione nodded "We put the diary back in the corner, and - after Myrtle explained about horcruxes, she agreed to keep an eye on it and see if anyone comes to get it" 

"You didn't want to hand it in?" Harry looked round "I mean - I know Luna and I have our problems with Dumbledore, but if this is as dark as you say it is..... "

"How would we explain it?" Hermione replied, then looked at Luna "If we took this to Dumbledore, or McGonagall, how would we explain having a horcrux in our possession?"

"With difficulty" Luna gave a soft laugh, then she turned to Harry "While I can't see everything, I am pretty sure the moment any of us take this to Dumbledore, we will forget about it less than five minutes later"

"So we just give it back to whoever is using it to attack the other students?" Harry replied "Don't you think that's a little dangerous?"

"Myrtle promised she would tell us when - if - it gets picked up" Blaise said "Then we can approach the person who is doing this" She glanced at Luna "If what happened to Lu is anything to go by, then whoever is doing it might not know they are doing it - it might be possessing them as well" 

"I suppose" Harry sighed, then he glanced at his watch "Okay - I think you four should get back to class"

"Us four?" Hermione quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not leaving Luna alone - I know the shadow lord is gone, but I'm going to stay until I can be sure" He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword "If you four go to your next classes, people will miss you less" 

"Okay" Neville nodded, then glanced at Blaise "Are you going to be able to get back without being noticed?"

"House of the Cunning" She smirked "Trust me - no one will be any the wiser" 

"Okay. I will see you all - well, I will see three of you at dinner tonight, and I'll see you all back here tonight" 

"I may be a little late" Hermione said "I'm going to see if I can get some time in the library - see if I can find Tom Riddle" 

"Don't look up stuff about horcruxes" Luna said suddenly "If Madame Pince finds you researching dark magic she will report you to the Deputy Headmistress, and I see a fair to middling chance that you will be kicked out"

"Okay - good safety tip"

xoxox

"Miss Granger? Where is Mr Potter?" McGonagall stared down at the front row of her transfiguration class.

"Harry's not feeling well" Hermione smiled back at her teacher "He started feeling a little dizzy in charms - I started taking him to the infirmary, but he asked if I could take him back to the common room instead"

"And did you?"

"Yes, Professor" Hermione nodded "I took him back to our common room, and then helped him upstairs and made sure he got into bed" She paused "He was already asleep by the time I turned to go - I think he'll probably sleep until dinner time"

"Very well - you will make sure he gets the class notes and the homework"

"Of course, Professor" Hermione smiled "He will be all caught up by the next class" 

"See to it that he is" McGonagall stared at her for a moment longer, then turned and walked back to the blackboard "Today we are going to study the basic laws of matter transformation" 

xoxox

"And on that wing there was a tic - a small tic, a tiny tic" Myrtle sang quietly to herself as she floated around the sink block at the end of her toilet "Tic on the wing, wing on the bird, bird in the nest, nest in the.... well huh" Closing her eyes, she faded to a near invisible state, then slowly floated up until she was hovering directly above the sinks. She stared down at her domain as the door swung shut and a young girl with red hair walked in. 

The figure walked over to the corner and picked the diary up, turning it over in her hands.

Myrtle started to float towards her, but the moment she moved the red head stiffened up, then slowly turned to stare up at her.

"Oh no" The girl said in a surprisingly sweet voice "This won't do at all" She clicked her fingers, and Myrtle found herself completely visible again "That's better - now we can both see each other"

"Who are you and what are you doing with....... with that thing?" Myrtle asked, pointing at the horcrux.

"This little thing?" The girl turned it over in her hands "Oh - this is important to a friend of mine"

"It's the vilest magic and should be destroyed" Myrtle flew down until she was face to face with the girl.

"Oh I couldn't do that - Tom would be very, very upset with me if I were to destroy a part of his soul. Even if he has some to spare, he would still be very upset with me indeed" The girl gave her a dark smile "And you won't want Tom upset with you - oh dear no, you don't want that"

"Tell someone then" Myrtle said in a pleading tone "If Tom is scaring you, tell someone - tell Dumbledore, or tell Harry Potter or Hermione Granger - they can help you"

"Dumbledore isn't the saint that everyone believes him to be - if they really knew what their leader of the light was like, they wouldn't be so quick to trust him" The girl paused "And I don't think Potter or Granger will be all that willing to help me either" She paused again, then her expression darkened "Not once they know the truth"

"What truth?" 

"Ah-ah-ahhh - that would be telling" The girl looked down at the diary, then back up at the ghost "I can't have everyone knowing all my secrets at once - a young woman has to have some mystery about her" She paused, then gave the ghostly girl an evil smile "And you, my dearly departed Ravenclaw, already know too much"

"I don't know anything" Myrtle backed away, shaking her head "I don't know anything at all"

"You know enough to tell tales to your little friends, and I can't have them interfering in my grand plan - not when I am so close" The girl raised her hand and pointed it at Myrtle "If I had the time, I would introduce you to my friend, but I have to go before I'm missed, so this will have to be the quick version" 

xoxox

"Oh god!" Luna sat bolt upright, managing to cut her scream off half way through. 

"LUNA?" Harry bounded into the study, wand in one hand and sword in the other "Are you alright?"

"Myrtle..... someone did something to Myrtle" Luna looked over at him "You need to go and check on her - you need to find out what he did to her"

"He?" Harry walked over and knelt down next to her, resting his sword against the chair "It was a man?"

"It...... it......" She trailed off, then blinked "It felt like she was talking to a he, but I didn't actually see the person that Myrtle was talking to" She shook her head "Every time I see something about what this creature is - what it is doing - there is this hole in my visions" She jumped to her feet and started pacing back and forth.

"It's never been like this before" She said, continuing to pace "Even when I could only see an hour or two in advance, I could see EVERY detail - nothing escaped the vision" She span round and stared at him "On the day I saw father die - the day I caused my mother's death - I could literally see the flies buzzing around the house, the exact pattern of the flames as they blew the top off our house" She started pacing again "But now..... there are huge gaps in my visions - not gaps in the timeline, but gaps in what I am seeing"

"So something or someone attacked Myrtle, but you couldn't see who?" Harry asked.

"Yeah" Luna nodded, her face falling.

"Do you think it's because of the diary?" He asked, standing up "I mean - now we know it's not just a charm or a prank, but that it is a disembodied human soul, could that have some kind of effect on your gift?" Luna looked at him thoughtfully.

"I don't see how, but I have never really understood how it works - I just know it works and is rarely, if ever, wrong" She paused "What were you thinking?"

"You can see every possible future that could happen - and you can eliminate futures as certain events happen" He said quietly "You can make me trip up if you say hippo, or you can make me dance if you spin round twice"

"I wouldn't put it like that exactly, but yes - if I make something happen that happens in a future, then that future comes to pass" She nodded.

"But some of it would be based on intent - I mean, you can tell me you are going to make me trip, but if I stay sat down, then I won't trip"

"I suppose"

"So what if a large part of your gift relates to intent?" Harry got to his feet and walked over to her "I have a million futures - I can go back to class, I can go to lunch, I can slap Dumbledore across the face for holding us prisoner or I could kiss you"

"And until you decide which of those things you are going to do, each one has an equal chance of happening" She nodded in understanding, then she frowned again "So why does that mean I can't see the diary person? I mean - we know the diary can't be doing this on its own"

"What with it being a disembodied human soul - it lacks a body" Harry nodded "But without wanting to get into a metaphysical discussion about the soul, consciousness, free will and all that - what if the mind that is in the diary is the one making all the decisions, and the poor unfortunate soul who is stuck carrying it around has no free will of their own"

"So I can't see who's doing this because they aren't doing it?" Luna stared at him for a long while, then sighed "Well that sucks"

"On the other hand - we know that Tom Riddle is responsible for this, which is more than we knew before" He smiled up at her, making her grin.

"I suppose" She paused "Now - can you wake yourself up and go check on Myrtle? Because whatever Tom did to her....."

"I'll go check on Myrtle in a moment, but I just want to ask you something" He paused, biting his lip.

"You want to know why I am not telling them about Voldemort yet?" She asked, and he nodded.

"We know who he is - and how dangerous he is - and if you are keeping the connection a secret......" He trailed off, then sighed "You know I trust you with my life, but I have to know - we are putting their lives at risk, Lu, and I have to know why"

"Hermione" Luna said quietly "She trusts me as much as you do, and she wouldn't sell us out to Voldemort"

"But?"

"But she also has a huge respect for authority. Her respect for Dumbledore is waning, especially since she knows what he did to us, but if we tell her about the connection between Tom and Voldemort, there is a chance - fair to middling - that she will feel it is her duty to tell someone else" Luna looked up at him "We can't let that happen"

"She'll find out eventually" Harry pointed out.

"And hopefully, by the time she does, she'll realise just what is going on and she'll be willing to keep it within the family" Luna paused, then smirked "So to speak" She glanced over at the wall "So - Myrtle?"

"Hermione left the cloak by my bed, so I can probably sneak down to Myrtle's loo and back before anyone misses me" He nodded "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Moving the diary away from me seems to have stopped it for now" Luna replied "But I can still feel the soul lurking about - once you come to The Dreamland, you can always come back"

"But you can fight it off? I'm not going to come back to find Tom Riddle strutting around Gondolin?"

"I'm pretty sure" She gave him a warm smile "And I guess the bright side of being petrified and trapped inside my own personal dream castle is that even if this dark lord of shadow does manage to possess me, he'll be as trapped in my body as I am"

"True, but all things being equal I'd rather come back to you than to a dark lord" He grinned back "If that's alright with you, of course?"

xoxox

"Myrtle?" Harry - completely covered by the cloak - crept into the abandoned toilet "Are you here?" He waited a few moments, then he walked a little further in "Myrtle? Please answer me! Don't make me search every cubicle!" He fell silent again, but there was no response.

"Fine - be like that" He flipped the cloak off and hung it up on the door "But when I find you we are going to have a long talk about this" He walked down to the end of the line of cubicles, and started pushing each door open in turn.

A few minutes later, he pushed the last one open, then sighed.

"Well that was a complete waste of time" He said, then he turned and looked around the toilet again, then walked over to the large block of sinks. He started walking round it, then stopped dead half way round.

"Oh Myrtle" He sighed, staring at the petrified form of the ghostly girl "I'm sorry we got you into this, sweetie, and I swear we will sort you out as soon as we can" 

xoxox

"Same thing as the other ghosts" Harry told the others at dinner that night "But from what our friend says, it wasn't the creature this time - it was whoever is being controlled by the diary"

"That's disturbing" Hermione replied "Someone has a spell that can mimic petrification?" 

"It might be Tom more than the person he's controlling" Neville suggested "Anyone who can split their soul in two is probably fairly powerful as mages go" He paused "In an evil twisted way, of course"

"Of course" Hermione said with a smile.

"Should we tell anyone?" Sally-Anne asked "About Myrtle?"

"How do we explain how we found it - found her?" Harry said. 

"Let me take care of that" Hermione said "I'll talk to Professor Sprout after tea - we can't leave Myrtle like that"

"I can come with you if you want" Sally-Anne offered.

"Thanks" Hermione smiled "So that just leaves how we are going to find out more about Tom Riddle, and more about horcruxes" She paused, then sighed "Any ideas?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated with minor changes to deal with a plot point from "The Dreamland" -- a reviewer (jesmalestiel) pointed out that Luna and Harry already know who Tom is. So I modified some of the text to provide an explanation :)


	11. Seerless

Harry walked through the portrait hole to the Hufflepuff common room, then headed upstairs. It was the last day of the Easter Holidays, and after the previous year's success in getting Neville hooked on chocolate eggs, Hermione had invited him to stay with her over the holidays. Blaise and Sally-Anne had stayed in Hogwarts, and they - along with Harry - had spent most of the holidays exploring The Underland. On their second day, they found a huge ocean to the west of the area, with a large harbour towards the north of the shore. Harry had wanted to spend the time in Gondolin - with the still trapped Luna - but she had insisted they get out and about and find out more about the world around them.

The next twelve days had been spent exploring the ocean - at least, that is what Blaise and Sally-Anne claimed they had been doing. To Harry it seemed more like sailing around and playing pirates, and excuse for Sally-Anne and Blaise to engage in some subtle, and some not so subtle flirting. 

But today was the last day of the holidays, and Hermione and Neville were due back later on that night. Despite the fact the floo network coverage was pretty much universal, Dumbledore and the school board still - apparently - insisted on students taking The Express both to and from the school, even though it meant they then had to take the floo from Kings Cross to wherever they were headed. Harry personally didn't understand it, but Luna had described it as "tradition", as if that explained everything.

He flopped on to this bed, and closed his eyes. 

"Maybe there are no such things as good friends or bad friends" He whispered, and a moment later he found himself stood in the central hall of The Nexus. The room was empty, but the lights on the C&C wall were flickering on and off as usual. His eyes skirted over them, checking that there wasn't anything going on. The giant spider horde that occupied the caves was still hanging around the caves - Luna had said that they wouldn't be swarming for another eleven weeks, and there wasn't anything in the world that would make him doubt what Luna told him - and the hospital they had cleared out the previous summer was still secure and protected. The only other thing he noted was that - much to his complete lack of surprise - Blaise and Sally-Anne appeared to have taken a boat out on to the ocean to do some more 'sailing'.

"Good evening, Mr Potter" Harry jumped in surprise at the sound of Luna's voice. Turning, he saw a holographic projection of Luna leaning against the door to the main room. 

"Madame Regent" He tilted his head in greeting "I see you've found a way to get round your current.... limitations" 

"It's not as helpful as it looks" Luna said with a sigh. She straightened up and walked in to the room "I can't touch anything, I can't pick anything up or interact with anything" She swept her hand down and it went right through the table in the middle of the room "I can't even slap my best friend when he is being a fool" She swatted at him, but her hand went right through him as well. 

"You can't make the hologram solid?" He asked looking her up and down "Even as Regent?"

"Whatever the diary did to me, it has - as you said - forced some limitations on me" Luna mimed hopping up on the table. She rested her arms behind her, then looked over at Harry - who, she realised, was trying not to laugh, and wasn't trying very hard.

"What?" She asked, looking down at her self.

"Whatever table you are sitting on seems to be about a quarter of an inch higher than the CnC table" He said, still smirking. She rolled her eyes and stood up again.

"This would be a lot easier if you just came to Gondolin, you know" She pouted. He grinned.

"Consider it done, Captain my Captain" He snapped off a quick salute, then bounded out of the room, heading towards the landing pad on the roof. She watched him go, then slowly faded away to nothing.

xoxox

"I'm still not sure I entirely understand" Neville said, looking across the compartment at Hermione "What does the egg have to do with the inferius?" Hermione let out a soft laugh.

"First - if you are going to visit my parents again, which I really hope you will, you have to stop referring to their most revered religious figure as an inferius" She said, still smiling. 

"I can do that" Neville nodded "I suppose referring to him as a zombie is probably out of the question as well?" Hermione laughed again.

"Almost certainly"

"Just checking" He said "But what does the..... what does he have to do with an egg?"

"It's kind of a combination of things" Hermione looked, then pointed out of the window "Look at the fields out there. They are flowering, the grass is growing, the new born lambs are gambolling"

"They are?" Neville peered out of the window, frowning "What sort of things do they bet on?"

"Gambolling" Hermione rolled her eyes, then - seeing the slight smirk on his face - reached across the compartment and whacked him on the arm "Very funny"

"I thought so" He grinned back "But you were talking about fields, grass, flowers and delinquent new borns?"

"Even in the magical world, most of the new borns are new born at this time of year" Hermione continued "The skrewts, the centaurs - even the acromantula are spawning, so to speak" She paused "The church - in the way that only the church can - jumped on the band-wagon and set the festival of Easter around the same time, to cash in on the season of rebirth and renewal - Christ coming back from the dead"

"So there is no direct connection between the chocolate eggs and the guy coming back from the dead?" Neville asked.

"Not directly" Hermione admitted "Although there are some people who think the egg shape relates to the stone that was rolled away from in front of the cave that he was buried in, but personally I think that is just rationalisation" 

"Whatever they represent, they are nice" Neville reached in to his bag and pulled out one of the Easter Eggs Hermione's parents had given him "Do you want some?"

"Sadly I've reached my limit for the year - my parents are very strict about how much sugar and chocolate I'm allowed to snarf down" Hermione gave a long, obviously fake sigh "No one has suffered like I have suffered" Neville broke off a piece of the egg and waved it under her nose.

"They'd never know. It'll be our little secret" He continued to wave it in front of her, but she closed her eyes.

"Get thee behind me, Longbottom!" She frowned at him without opening her eyes, then smiled as she felt him move it away "Good boy"

"Arf, arf" Neville grinned as she opened her eyes.

"So I should probably tell my parents you aren't likely to convert then?" She asked. 

"I think my gran would kill me" Neville replied sincerely "Quite possibly literally" She stared at him for a few moments.

"Okay - then we shouldn't do that then"

"I would consider it a kindness"

xoxox

"Yo, ho! Yo, ho! A pirate's life for me!" Sally-Anne spun the wheel on the frigate round while Blaise watched her, an amused grin on her face.

"Having fun?" The young Slytherin asked.

"I think I was a sailor in my former life" Sally-Anne said brightly, spinning the wheel round again.

"You do realise the wheel is having no effect at all?" Blaise pointed out.

"It's not?" Sally-Anne clapped her hands to her face "Oh noes! Chaos! Alarums! Lawks!" Blaise started laughing again.

"You could've just said 'yes', you know" She said, rolling her eyes.

"I know" Sally-Anne span round to face her "But what fun would that be? And this way....." She turned back to face the wheel, and took hold of it again "I can surprise you when you least expect it" She turned the wheel to the right, and the ship started to turn as well. Blaise grasped onto the rail that ran around the edge of the stern, then looked up at her friend.

"Where......" She paused as the ship hit a wave and she bounced up and down "..... where are we going, sweetie?"

"I was thinking we could go and explore the southern peninsula" Sally-Anne suggested "According to the rumours I heard in The Salty Wench, a 9th century treasure galleon went down off the coast of the peninsula"

"Rumours in The Salty Wench?" Blaise raised a curious eyebrow.

"Rumours in The Salty Wench" Sally-Anne nodded "One-Eyed Jake and Limpy McStumpy-Legs were both very insistent" She paused "Skipchat says the treasure could be worth upward of a thousand million galleons" 

"Wow" Blaise exclaimed "Is it under the law of the sea? Does anyone have a claim on it?" 

"If we can find it, it's all ours" Sally-Anne grinned "So - you want to go exploring, or shall we just sail around some more?"

xoxox

"Well....... huh" Harry brought Sir Hugsalot to a halt in mid-air and hovered there, looking down on Castle Gondolin. A castle that now had a huge, completely opaque black sphere enclosing it on every side. 

"Luna?" He called out, but there was no response. Taking a deep breath, he yelled her name again at the top of his voice. When there was still no response, he took another deep breath, then slowly urged Hugsalot forward until he was a centimetre away from the black sphere. 

"Okay - here goes nothing" He said to himself, then he urged Hugsalot forward again, only to bounce off the sphere. 

"That went well" He stared down at the sphere. Closing his eyes, he summoned up a slingshot, then he pulled the cup back and took aim at the shield. 

PING!

The stone bounced off the shield and fell down towards The Underland. 

"Luna? Are you sure you can't hear me?" He called out again "LUNA???" 

xoxox

"Did you hear that?" Blaise looked around as Sally-Anne steered the ship towards the peninsula. 

"What?" Sally-Anne looked over at her. 

"I thought I heard......"

"LUNA????" This time both girls looked up as Harry's voice filled the air. 

"I definitely heard that" Sally-Anne turned to Blaise "Do you think we should......"

"Most definitely" Blaise nodded, then grabbed hold of the rail as Sally-Anne span the wheel round, sending the ship back towards the dock. 

xoxox

"Did....." Hermione started, then trailed off, shaking her head.

"What?" Neville asked, looking up from the book on mandrakes he was reading.

"I thought I heard....." She paused, eyes focused on the wall behind Neville's head "I thought I heard Harry" Neville gazed back at her.

"You have been away from him for a few weeks" He suggested "Could you be missing him?" 

"No - it's not that" She shook her head "I mean - yes, I missed him. He's my best friend and we spend almost all the time together. But this......." She trailed off, looking confused "It felt like he was talking in my head" Neville blinked in surprise.

"Like when Luna screamed?" He asked. Hermione's eyes widened and she nodded "Do you think Harry's in trouble?"

"I don't know" Hermione glanced at her watch, then looked out of the window "Damn it - we're too far away"

"You can sleep here" He suggested "If you need to get into The Dreamland, I can watch you while you sleep"

"You'd do that for me?" She asked in surprise.

"Of course" He nodded "You're going to be on edge until you know what is going on with him - if anything is going on with him - so if you sleep now, you can wake up relaxed and rested" He stood up and pulled down the blinds on the compartment windows, then he looked back at her.

"Lay down on the seat, and use your phrase to enter The Dreamland" He said "Sleep now. I will watch and catch you if you should fall" Hermione smiled at him, then lay down on her side.

"It's time to play the music......."

xoxox

".....it's time to light the lights" She looked around, finding herself in her reading room at The Nexus. Jumping to her feet she bounded out of the room and down the corridor. 

xoxox

"Harry's right - we nearly need a bat-signal type thing" Blaise commented as she and Sally-Anne sprinted off The Faithless Cabin Boy and onto the dock.

"I guess some kind of interworld communication system would be useful" Sally-Anne replied, slightly out of breath "But we can sort that out later. Right now we need......." She looked round then caught sight of Caladan and Issi Noho "....our valiant steeds!" 

xoxox

Hermione skidded into CnC and leaned against the central table, breathing deeply. 

"How is it I can fly around on a winged horse, but I still get out of breath after running for two minutes?" She said to herself "And why did we design this place to be so buggering big?" 

xoxox

Harry landed Hugsalot on top of The Nexus, and climbed off.

"Luna?" He called out. 

"No - Blaise" He looked up to see Blaise and Sally-Anne fly over him, before wheeling round and coming in to land next to him. The two girls dismounted and walked over to join him "She's isn't in Gondolin?"

"I wouldn't know" Harry said, biting his lip "I can't get in any more"

"WHAT?"

xoxox

"I flew over to Gondolin, and the castle is now entirely closed off" Harry explained the situation to the three girls in CnC a few minutes later "The whole of Luna's home is enclosed in a large, black ball. It's entirely solid - I can't see through it - and I can't get through it either. I tried flying Hugsy through it, but he couldn't get past it" He paused "I also tried shooting four or five stones at it and they all bounced off" 

"So Luna could be trapped in there?" Hermione asked, pacing back and forth "Should we try breaking in? Getting through there by force?"

"No" All four students span round to see a holographic version of Luna floating in front of the main screen at the end of the room "Don't try breaking in - it won't end well"

xoxox

"Professor Sprout - how are the mandrakes coming along?" Dumbledore asked at the back to school staff meeting. 

"I think they should be ready in a week or so - maybe a fortnight" Sprout replied, glancing at the pad on her knee "One final re-potting and then they'll be fully mature and ready for harvesting" She paused "I realise that you want to heal the petrified students as soon as possible, but I have to get this exactly right, Headmaster, or the resulting potion will more than likely make the petrification permanent"

"I understand, Pomona - I am sure you are doing your best" Dumbledore nodded "I received some representations in my position as Head of The Wizengamot in regard to Rubeus Hagrid" He paused, looking thoughtful "It would seem that Mr Longbottom made good on his promise to talk to his grandmother on Hagrid's behalf - she, Mrs Diggory, Mrs Weasley and Mrs Abbott all sent petitions of concern to my office, demanding that Hagrid either face trial for whatever Minister Fudge arrested him for or be released as soon as is practical" 

"And what are you going to do about it, Albus?" McGonagall asked.

"As I have previously explained, despite my position as Head of The Wizengamot, my hands are somewhat tied as to what I can do in regard to law and order in this country....." Dumbledore started, then stopped when both Sprout and Snape let out snorts of derision.

"Albus - you are the head of the legislative branch" Snape said calmly "You are also in charge of the judicial branch of the government"

"And I have also been a long time advocate of Hagrid working at Hogwarts and in our society in general" Dumbledore pointed out "While I do not approve nor appreciate what Cornelius has done, if I am seen to be standing up for my friend against The Minister of Magic then people will assume it is because of our friendship, rather than for any legitimate legal reasons"

"Albus, with all due respect, that is bollocks and you know it" Sprout stared levelly at him "You spoke up for Severus when he was accused at the end of the war, and - forgive me for saying so Severus - he was accused of far, far worse than Hagrid is now" 

"That was a different situation" Dumbledore protested, but Sprout shook her head.

"Hagrid is accused of possibly being involved in opening The Chamber, and you know he can't possibly be guilty of it" Sprout paused "Severus, with all due respect, was accused of treason, sedition, murder, using unforgivable curses and being a Death Eater and - as far as I know - was guilty of all of them" She stared at the two men "Yet you go to the mattresses for Snape and won't even raise your hand for Hagrid" She shrugged "There are a lot of people wondering why" Dumbledore stared back at her, then took a deep breath. 

"While I can see how this might look, there are circumstances in both cases that justify my action..... or in-action, as the case may be" He said in a calm voice "And if I draw attention to Hagrid's situation, it risks drawing attention to other things that I do not want either The Minister or certain members of The Wizengamot looking into" He paused "Including the circumstances surrounding Severus' pardon and employment here"

"So you are willing to let Hagrid suffer to protect your secrets?" McGonagall asked.

"I have every faith that The Minister will see the error of his ways before long, and will release Hagrid" Dumbledore insisted "And if it will put your minds at ease - I have made some arrangements to make Hagrid's time at Azkaban a little less uncomfortable" 

"You have?" Sprout and Flitwick asked at the same time.

"Yes" Dumbledore nodded "Now - are there any other questions, or can we discuss the coming term and the new security arrangements?"

xoxox

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Harry asked. The hologram of Luna floated into the room and hovered in the centre. 

"Do you remember the first rule of The Dreamland?" She looked around "And the first person who says 'you don't talk about The Dreamland' gets smacked" 

"How can you smack us if you're a hologram?" Blaise asked. Luna turned round slowly until she was facing the Slytherin, then gave her a wicked grin.

"Are you sure you want to know?" She said in an amused voice. Blaise swallowed loudly, then shook her head emphatically. 

"Wise choice" Luna grinned, then turned until she was addressing the group again "Anyone remember?"

"That once you come here once, you can always come here?" Hermione asked. 

"Correctamundo" Luna nodded, then winced "Which is not something I am going to say again" She paused "The reason I have been so careful with who we invite to The Dreamland - is that I have no idea how to prevent them from coming back if we decide they are not a good...... fit"

"What if someone comes to The Underland?" Sally-Anne said, looking thoughtful "Can you prevent someone from coming up?"

"How would they get here?" Harry interjected, then he turned to Blaise "Sorry to bring it up again, but you were stuck in The Underland for months - did you ever think about trying to get up to the sky?"

"No" Blaise shook her head "I was mostly too busy thinking about not getting eaten by the hordes of monsters" She paused "And even if I had wanted to visit one of the clouds there would have been no way to do it - none of the creatures I've seen in The Underland can fly so they wouldn't be able to take me up"

"What about Neville? And me, for that matter?" Hermione pointed out "I was on the verge of breaking into The Dreamland from the temple......"

"But you wouldn't have managed it" Luna's projection said "You may have managed to escape the temple, but it would have either meant you escaped The Underland or you would have gone to your own personal Dreamland" 

"Oh" Hermione frowned "And Neville?"

"We rescued him from The Underland" Harry said quietly "From the greenhouses he was in" 

"I know it seems impossible, but the only way in is through me" Luna looked at each of them in turn "I have complete control of the entry way, but only for the first time. After that, I have no say in who comes and who goes" She paused "Which is why I have had to seal Gondolin off from the rest of The Dreamland"

"Because of Tom Riddle" Hermione said, and Luna nodded.

"Getting the diary away from me stopped him trying to possess me, but I am worried - very, very worried - that part of the soul that is inhabiting the diary will remember what this place is and try to get back here" The projection paled, making it even more see-through "I realise that a disembodied fraction of a soul........ a fraction of a disembodied soul?" She paused, then shook her head "I realise that in and of itself it is probably not that dangerous, but if someone we don't know - someone who is as evil as this Tom Riddle seems to be - learns how to control The Dreamland......" She trailed off, shaking her head "It really does not bear thinking about"

"There's also the chance he could possess any one of us" Sally-Anne said quietly. 

"Which would be bad" Luna nodded "And not to sound self-centred or overly self-aggrandising, but if he succeeded in possessing me, he might gain my powers as Regent - something I think none of you would want to see" 

"But you are stuck in there" Harry said urgently "If he comes back, won't he most likely come back there?"

"Yes" Luna nodded again "But I believe I can control him - or at least resist him" She paused "And if he does manage to possess me, he will not be able to drop the forcefield around Gondolin - I have ensured that only I can do that" 

"You are sure you'll be okay?" Harry stared at her intently. She smiled.

"I will be fine, sweetie" She said softly. They stared at each other for a few moments longer, then Luna blinked "Creating this projection is taking a lot of energy - I don't think I can maintain it for much longer, nor can I do it very often. Maybe once a day, five minutes tops. So I will time it for midnight each night, and will appear here" She paused, then looked at Hermione "You are on The Express? With Neville?"

"Yes" Hermione nodded.

"I haven't had any visions of the future since I sealed the castle, but one of the last things I saw was that Dumbledore isn't going to do anything about Hagrid, despite the appeals by Madams Longbottom, Weasley, Abbott and Diggory" Luna sighed "He told the four Heads of House that he had taken some action to make Hagrid's stay a little less uncomfortable, but from what I can tell that was a lie" Her face turned angry "Our beloved Headmaster - The Leader of The Light and most revered man in our society - is going to let his grounds-keeper rot in jail because he believes it will serve the greater good" 

"The greater good?" Blaise raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"The idea that if you are serving the greatest good of the greatest number, then any sins you commit are automatically forgiven - washed away by the good you will do" Hermione said sourly "It's utter bollocks of course"

"Why?" Sally-Anne asked curiously.

"Because it allows you to mentally justify anything" Hermione said angrily "I am quite willing to fight, and if necessary, die to rid the world of Voldemort. To save my parents, and all the future first-born witches and wizards, I wouldn't think twice about it"

"Ditto" Sally-Anne nodded.

"But if Dumbledore decided you had to die - if he sent you to your death for the greater good without bothering to ask whether you wanted to give your life or not - would you be as happy?" Hermione asked.

"No" Sally-Anne shook her head "If I am going to give my life, it has to be my life to give"

"But Dumbledore would see it as his choice to make - because he is the leader of the light, he decides what serves the greater good"

"The greater good" Luna nodded in agreement "And in this instance, it is served by giving up Hagrid - at least until whoever is really responsible for this is found and turned over to The Ministry" She paused "Any ideas about that?"

"Well - we know it isn't any of us" Blaise said with a grin. Luna rolled her eyes, then suddenly vanished. 

"Luna?" Harry called out "LUNA?" 

_I'm alright. I just can't maintain the projection any more. See you tomorrow night._

"See you....." Harry trailed off, then looked at his friends "We have to solve this. Preferably before Tom Riddle eats Luna's brain" 

xoxox

Hermione blinked, then looked up to see Neville gazing down at her. 

"Hello, blue-eyes" He said, smiling fondly.

xoxox

Blaise looked around her empty dorm, then smiled before closing her eyes again.

"A moose once bit my sister, you know" 

xoxox

Sally-Anne opened her eyes, glanced at her watch, then closed her eyes again.

"My sister once bit a moose, you know"

xoxox

Harry stretched, then slowly sat up. 

"The Express will be here in an hour or so" He said to himself "I suppose I should go and get ready to meet Hermione and Neville" He paused "Besides, I don't think Blaise and Sally-Anne would welcome me with open arms, and if Luna isn't going to be around until midnight....." He sighed "Hermione and Neville it is" 

xoxox

"Luna's trapped in Gondolin?" Neville asked, looking concerned.

"She's worried that this Tom Riddle soul fragment is going to try to return to The Dreamland and possibly possess her or any one of us" Hermione said with a nod "If he can possess one of us, he would take over our waking body. If he manages to possess Luna then he might well come Regent of The Dreamland and god knows what would happen then" 

"So she's sealed off the castle to keep him in there" Neville nodded understandingly "She's a brave young woman"

"That she is" Hermione smiled fondly "She's risking her life to keep us safe - and by extension the rest of Hogwarts, if not the magical world" 

"So how can we help?" Neville leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees "Can we destroy the horcrux? If we get rid of the soul fragment, then at least Luna could come out of her self-imposed isolation" 

"That's true" Hermione agreed "But if this Riddle guy was clever enough to create something to store his soul in, I suspect that he probably would have put quite a lot of protection on it - I don't think we're going to be able to just throw it on the fire"

"People must have created horcuxes in the past" Neville said "And - since I had never heard of one before now, then they must have been destroyed"

"So - we have to do research into an obscure and arcane branch of magic?" Hermione asked, pretending to pout. 

"I know it will be a chore, sweetie" Neville grinned as Hermione started laughing.

"I'm young, so I forbear" She said, still grinning. Neville laughed as well, then her smile faded "Luna had a message for you"

"She did?" Neville asked, still smiling.

"She did" Hermione nodded, making his smile fade "Sealing herself away has cut her off from the visions, but before she was severed completely, she saw Dumbledore meeting with the senior staff about Hagrid" She paused, biting her lip. 

"Gran's appeal isn't going to help, is it?" He said sadly.

"Your gran, along with Mrs Weasley, Mrs Abbott and Mrs Diggory all wrote to Dumbledore, and he isn't going to do anything about it" Hermione's tone flared with anger "He's going to let Hagrid rot in jail until we can find out who is really responsible and get him released" Her eyes flashed with inner fury, making Neville jump out of his seat and sit down next to her instead. He slipped his arm around her, pulling her into a hug "I used to think he was so great - that he was truly the leader of the light....." She trailed off, shaking her head "Then again - he locked up Luna's father so he could use her visions to make himself even more beloved and adored, so clearly he is not exactly the man of the year" She closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. He rested his other hand on her leg.

"We'll destroy the horcrux, we'll save Luna and then we will deal with Dumbledore and get Luna her father back" He said softly.

"And killed Voldemort" Hermione added.

"You just want the moon on a stick, don't you?" Neville asked, making her snort with amusement.

xoxox

"Do you think we should go and meet Hermione and Neville?" Blaise asked. Sally-Anne looked over at her. 

"First - you can't go and meet them" She said calmly "If anyone saw you, they would tell Snape, who would tell your guardians, who would probably burn you at the stake"

"True"

"Second, do you really want to give up sun-bathing on the suckitand sea to go out into the Scottish sleet and rain?"

"It's actually quite a nice day out there" Blaise said. Sally-Anne rolled over and looked at her blankly "That wasn't your point, was it?"

"Not so much" Sally-Anne smiled at her, then she reached out and ran her hand down Blaise's leg "Still want to go meet Hermione and Neville?"

"I think I can think of better things to do" Blaise replied. 

"I thought you might"

xoxox

Harry leaned against a pillar in The Entrance Hall, watching as the returning students streamed through the front door. Nodding to a few of them, he continued to stare at the main doors, waiting for Hermione and Neville.

"Mr Potter"

"Headmaster" Harry replied without looking away from the doors "Did you have a nice holiday?"

"Yes, thank you" Dumbledore walked forward until he was next to Harry "And you?"

"It was passable, thank you" The Headmaster paused "I have to talk to you about the summer holidays - you realise you will have to return to your Aunt's in Privet Drive?"

"Yes, sir" Harry replied tightly "You have made it clear on a number of occasions that I have to spend my holidays with my family" He paused "But at least I will have a friend that I can play out with, so to speak"

"I am afraid I can't allow that, Harry" Dumbledore walked round until they were face to face "Your safety and security is contingent on you remaining in your Aunt's house" 

"So you are saying I can't leave? Because last year, and while I was growing up, I left the house quite a lot - I went to the park, to Mrs Figg's, to school - and apparently you had no problem with any of that" Harry looked up, staring into Dumbledore's eyes "Are you saying I am going to be a prisoner in my Aunt's house from now on?" Dumbledore stared back at him, then smiled.

"Of course I am not saying that, Mr Potter" He said amicably "However you are far more safe when you remain within the bounds - the wards - of your Aunt's house" 

"Do the same rules apply to Luna?" Harry asked with a smile "Because while I am sure Aunt Petunia would understand the need for me to remain at home, I am equally sure she'd let me have visitors, from time to time" He paused "I mean - it's not like Luna doesn't know where I live, and I am sure that she means me no harm" He stared intently at Dumbledore "Unless you know differently, sir?" Dumbledore stared back at him, then blinked.

"You seem very invested in having Luna visit you, or visiting Luna during the summer holidays. May I ask why this sudden interest?" He asked in the same, amicable voice.

"I've never had a friend in Little Whinging before, Headmaster" Harry said, his voice serious "Dudley and his gang of thugs made sure of that"

"And you aren't worried about exposing Miss Lovegood to the attentions of your cousin?" Dumbledore folded his arms "From your comments, I would say you don't have that positive an opinion of him"

"Headmaster - is it being a politician that makes you this much of an expert at grasping at straws, or having had to deal with students for so many years?" Harry smiled politely at him "Because you really do have it down to a fine art" He paused "I am going to ask Luna if she'd like to come over during the holidays, and I am going to ask if she would mind me visiting her. I am sure she will have to talk to her Uncle, but if he, and she, says yes, then I will be visiting her" He narrowed his eyes "If you want to prevent me, or Luna, from visiting each other, then you will have to come to Little Whinging and do it" He looked over Dumbledore's shoulder, then smiled "Now - if you will excuse me - I am going to welcome back my friends"

xoxox

"Good evening, Miss Granger, Mr Longbottom" Harry gave them a polite nod, then grinned when Hermione threw her arms around him and pulled him into a hug "Oh I needed that"

"Something vexes thee?" Neville asked as Hermione released Harry and straightened up.

"Our beloved Headmaster believes that if I visit Luna, or Luna visits me, during the holidays then Voldemort will jump out of my Aunt's azalea bushes and rip my head off" Harry sighed "Neville - can I ask you something?"

"Apart from that?" Neville smirked.

"Yes, apart from that" Harry rolled his eyes "Your grandmother was on the Hogwarts' Board, right?"

"Yes" Neville nodded.

"Do you think you could ask her about how far Dumbledore's power extends? Because I have never been to a school before where the Headmaster, or any member of staff, gets to decide how I can spend my holidays" Harry glanced over his shoulder to where Dumbledore was watching the arrival of the rest of the students "Does he really have the right to tell Luna she can't see me? Or that I can't see her?" 

"Not as Headmaster, no" Neville shook his head "At a push, his power as Headmaster extends to the barrier at Platform 9 3/4, but beyond that he really has no say in what you do......" 

"I sense a but?" Harry said. 

"You do have a 'but-face'" Hermione added, making Neville roll his eyes.

"Are you going to tell that joke every time?" He asked her. 

"Yes" Hermione nodded "But you should probably give Harry your 'but' before he hits you"

"I promise you - the last thing I want is Neville's 'but'" Harry couldn't help laughing. 

"What's wrong with my 'but'?" Neville asked, sounding hurt. Harry tilted his head to one side "Never mind - the problem is that, along with being Headmaster of Hogwarts, he is also Head of The Wizengamot and of The International Confederation of Wizards" He paused "So while his power as Headmaster ends at the end of the station, as Supreme Mugwump his power extends a lot, lot further"

"But can he still tell me who I can spend my time with?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Criminals sometimes have conditions attached to their parole" Hermione pointed out, then blinked "Not that you are a criminal of course"

"Of course" Harry said "So if I were to take this to The Minister......"

"It might work" Neville agreed "But Minister Fudge does have a history of relying on Dumbledore when making decisions" He paused "And in regard to decisions about your safety, Dumbledore is recognised as the known authority" 

"So basically, I'm screwed either way" Harry said with a sigh.

"You should think positive" Hermione smirked at him. Harry looked back at her, then shook her head.

"Too easy" He said "So - do you want a hand with your stuff to the dorm?"

"I thought you would never ask" Hermione grinned.

xoxox

"You're going to visit Luna at......" Hermione trailed off as they rounded the corner to the corridor in front of their dorm, then she and Harry came to a halt, staring in confusion at the sight in front of them. 

Nick and Peeves were hanging in mid air, all looking slightly more solid than usual, while the petrified bodies of three students lay on the ground underneath them. 

xoxox

"Susan, Pansy and Terry?" Blaise asked, surprised.

"And Nick and Peeves" Hermione nodded "We went back to talk to Myrtle - the diary has gone. Whoever is doing this is back" 

"So we've decided - it's time" Harry said quietly. Blaise, Neville and Sally-Anne turned to look at him.

"Time for what?" Neville asked.

"Time to bring this to an end"


	12. I Can't Help But Notice The Snake

Three days later, Harry and Hermione were sat in Charms when a loud bell started ringing throughout the castle.

"ALL STUDENTS RETURN TO YOUR DORMITORIES IMMEDIATELY" McGonagall's voice echoed through the classroom "ALL STUDENTS RETURN TO YOUR DORMITORIES IMMEDIATELY. ALL STAFF MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE SECOND FLOOR" 

"You heard Professor McGonagall" Flitwick looked round the room "Class dismissed - all of you return to your common rooms, now" Without waiting to see if they obeyed, he jumped down from behind his lectern and shot out of the classroom. The students exchanged glances, then started packing their stuff up.

"What do you think's happened?" Harry asked as he slipped his books into his bag.

"Not sure, but the school wide broadcast system is only used during emergencies" Hermione glanced at the door, then slipped her bag over her head.

"Another attack?"

"It's possible" Hermione shrugged, then together they walked towards the door, filing out of the classroom with the other Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.

"And we still don't know who is directing this - who has Riddle's diary" Harry frowned "And whether they are doing it on purpose or not"

"You think this is all by accident?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"No - I mean if Luna was worried about Riddle's soul fragment possessing her, could it be that it has already possessed whoever has the diary? That it is Riddle doing all this - working through someone else?" 

"It's possible, I suppose" Hermione looked thoughtful "And it might explain why Luna can't see who is doing all this - your whole intent theory would go double if the person was possessed" She looked around, then her eyes widened as McGonagall walked up to the line of students.

"Mr Weasley - please come with me" She said in a clipped voice.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"The Headmaster will explain that, Mr Weasley" McGonagall continued in the same brisk voice "If you will come with me?" Ron nodded, then followed her off down a side corridor. Harry looked at Hermione and she nodded back. Reaching out to take her hand, they headed off down the same corridor, lagging a little behind so they wouldn't be seen. 

xoxox

"Mr Weasley - I am sorry to have to tell you this, but I am afraid something has happened to your sister" Ron stared at Dumbledore with a dumb expression on his face.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Dumbledore took a long, slow breath.

"A few minutes ago, we found this message on the wall" He said, leading Ron round the corner. Harry and Hermione crept up to the corner, and looked round it to see the words "HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER" written in letters ten feet hight across the wall on the far side of the corridor.

"We believe that it is your sister who has been taken" Dumbledore continued in a kind, quiet voice "I am sorry, Mr Weasley, but we are not clear as to what chamber the message refers to, nor do we have any idea as to where it might be" 

"So she's just going to die? You're just going to let her die?" Ron growled "You're Albus bloody Dumbledore, sir - DO SOMETHING!"

"MR WEASLEY!" McGonagall snapped "You will not use that tone with the Headmaster"

"My sister has been kidnapped and is going to die, and you are worried about my TONE?" Ron shouted at her, then turned as Lockhart walked down the corridor towards the group.

"What seems to be the matter?" He asked in a genial manner.

"My sister has been kidnapped and taken somewhere" Ron said, eyeing him up "Can you do something about this? You are this world renowned expert in defence - help me get my sister back" 

"Of course - consider it done, young master" Lockhart beamed at him "If you will just let me return to my office, I will get the specialist equipment I need to help you, and I will be right back" Without waiting, he turned on his heal and bolted away down the nearest corridor. 

"He's not coming back, is he?" Harry asked in a near silent whisper.

"I wouldn't have thought so" Hermione replied "Do you think it's time to get the others? To find where The Chamber is and get her back?"

"Yes" Harry nodded "The training Luna has been given us in The Dreamland has made us ready for this - I think the five of us can do this"

"Do you think we should get Lockhart to help?" Hermione asked, glancing at the corridor their Defence Professor had run down.

"Not unless we want to use him as canon fodder" Harry snorted in amusement "The question is - how do we get Blaise? We can't just walk up to the Slytherin common room and ask if she can come out to play" 

"Leave that to me" Hermione grinned "I want you to go to Myrtle's toilet, and see if you can find out where the entrance to The Chamber might be"

"What makes you think....."

"Because I'm going to have to sneak along to the Ravenclaw common room to get hold of Neville and Sally" She paused "Do you want to do that?" 

"We only have one invisibility cloak" Harry pointed out "Do you want to borrow it?"

"No - I'll be fine" Hermione smiled "Plus once I get Neville and Sally I don't think we're going to be able to fit under it anyway" She glanced at the group of teachers, then her gaze drifted to Ron "Should we tell him what we're doing?"

"No" Harry shook his head "He'd only want to come with us and get in the way"

"I'm sold" Hermione grinned at him "So - we'll see you in the toilet" She paused, then rolled her eyes "That didn't even sound better in my head"

xoxox

"I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good" 

xoxox

"LUNA?" Hermione appeared in The Nexus, and bellowed out Luna's name at the top of her magically enhanced voice. 

"What?" Luna's hologram faded into view.

"I need you to get Blaise's attention somehow" Hermione said quickly "We're going to find Ginny Weasley, and we need her help"

"Consider it done" Luna smiled "And cover your ears" Hermione stared at her blankly for a moment, then put her hands over her ears. 

"BLAISE!!" Luna shouted, and - despite having her hands over her ears - Hermione not only heard Luna's voice but also felt the entire building shake. 

When the vibrations stopped, Hermione lowered her hands.

"Bloody hell" She exclaimed "Can anyone do that, or just our beloved Regent?"

"Just me for now" Luna replied, then her face brightened "She's here"

"Already?" Hermione turned to look at the door to CnC.

"Already" Blaise nodded, walking in a moment later "So - what's up?" 

xoxox

"Myrtle?" Harry called out "Are you here?" He paused for a few moments, then sighed "Somehow I always expect her to answer, even though I know she is still petrified and in the infirmary" He looked around "So - if I were The Chamber of Secrets, where would I have my secret door?" He walked down the length of the toilet, looking at each cubicle in turn, then he turned round and walked back to the sink block. 

"I can't imagine any of The Founders jumping into one of the loos" He said "So maybe you turn a tap?" He reached out and turned the tap directly in front of him. Water splashed out of it, but nothing else happened. He shuffled to the right, and turned the next tap with exactly the same results. 

"This could take a while"

xoxox

"I'll go as soon as I wake up, and as soon as I can get out of the common room without arousing too much suspicion" Blaise said. 

"Are you sure you want to be a part of this?" Hermione asked "There is every chance we could all end up dead" 

"All for one" Blaise replied simply. Hermione smiled.

"Meet Harry in Myrtle's toilet - the rest of us will be along shortly" She said brightly "Don't let him go down there until we get there"

"I will sit on him if I have to" Blaise laughed "See you soon" She faded out of CnC, leaving Hermione looking at Luna.

"Take care - I won't be able to help you down there" Luna said quietly "I can't even see what's going to happen next"

"I promise we'll be careful, sweetie" Hermione said "And I promise we will all be there when Dumbledore finally deigns to get round to waking you up"

"I will hold you to that" Luna smiled, then blinked "I have to go - my five minutes are up. Say hi to Harry for me"

"Consider it....." Hermione stopped as Luna vanished "....done"

xoxox

Harry walked round and stood in front of the final sink. 

"Are you the one?" He asked, staring down at the tap. He paused for a moment, then he reached out and turned it. 

"Well - okay" He turned the tap again, but still no water came out. He banged his hand on the top of it, but nothing happened.

"Try talking to it" Blaise's voice came from the door, and Harry turned - smiling as she entered.

"Hermione found you then?"

"By way of Luna summoning me to The Dreamland, yeah" She nodded. 

"Luna summoned you?" Harry asked in surprise, then he shook his head "Never mind - that can wait. This tap here doesn't work, but turning it doesn't open the secret door to The Chamber" He paused "Any ideas?"

"Why ask me?" Blaise said, walking into the toilet and coming to stand next to him.

"Sneaky and cunning" Harry responded "I would've thought if anyone knew where a The Chamber of Secrets was, it would be the Slytherins"

"Sorry" Blaise shrugged "I've never heard of it and have no clue where it is" 

"Even though it was built by Salazar Slytherin himself?" Hermione asked, walking into the toilet with Neville and Sally-Anne.

"It was?" Blaise stared at her in surprise.

"After we saw Dumbledore wiping the message away, I did some research" Hermione continued, as the three of them walked up to the sink block "Each of The Founders had their own secret area in the castle - they've been lost for nearly a thousand years, ever since The Founders had a huge disagreement and went their separate ways" 

"The Founders had a fight?" Harry blinked "Really?"

"Do you think we can have our history lesson later?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Sorry" Harry blushed "So how do we get into The Chamber?" Hermione leaned over to stare at the sink block. 

"This is the only tap that doesn't work?" She asked, and Harry nodded "It's also......" She paused, looking at the two taps on either side of the one they were stood in front of "....the only one with a snake drawn on it" 

"A snake is the symbol of my house" Blaise said, then bit her lip sheepishly "Which you all know already"

"So we're all agreed this is the way in?" Hermione looked around and everyone nodded "We just don't know how to make it open" 

"Maybe we just ask it?" Neville suggested "If it's a magical entrance, maybe it responds to magic" 

"Open Sesame" Harry said, making Hermione laugh. 

"Somehow I suspect Salazar Slytherin was not a big fan of muggle literature" She said. 

"So how do we get in?" Blaise asked "I mean we could try blasting it? If we all put our wands together, we could probably obliterate it"

"Or it could be warded beyond reason and any attack would kill us" Sally-Anne replied "Slytherin was known to be more than a little paranoid" 

"So what do we do?" Harry asked again, then turned back, staring intently at the tap. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes "Luna - I've never asked you for anything.... well that's clearly not true. I keep asking you for stuff and probably will keep asking you. But right now I need to find a way to get this sink to open" He paused "Maybe I can do it with my mind" 

"Your mind?" Hermione asked. Harry smiled, but didn't open his eyes.

"Maybe if I just think....... open" 

"Woah!" Harry's eyes shot open at Blaise's exclamation.

"What's wrong?" He asked, eyes widening at the worried look on Blaise's face - and the faces of the others. 

"You hissed" Blaise said "Like a snake" Hermione and Neville both nodded.

"I did what?" Harry stared at her in confusion.

"You said 'Maybe if I just think' and then you hissed" Blaise repeated herself "As if you were......"

"A snake" Sally-Anne finished for her. 

"I can't speak snake" Harry said flatly. 

"Parseltongue" Hermione supplied.

"I can't speak Parseltongue" Harry repeated.

"Apparently you can" Sally-Anne looked him "Try again - but instead of thinking about what you are saying, think about what you want" Harry looked at her thoughtfully, then closed his eyes again. He let his mind wander, thinking about Luna, about The Dreamland and about opening the door.

"Grant me access to The Chamber of Secrets" He said, then he opened his eyes.

"That was snake language, wasn't it?" He asked, and the others nodded. 

"What did you say?" Neville asked.

"Grant me access to The Chamber of Secrets" Harry said, then realised Neville was looking at him thoughtfully "What?"

"Try 'Grant me access to my Chamber of Secrets'" Neville suggested "It would be Slytherin who wanted to get in" 

"Grant me access to my Chamber of Secrets" Harry repeated, then he grinned as the entire sink block started to sink into the floor "Oh yes!" They watched as the sink block vanished out of sight, then Hermione took a step forward.

"So - we just jump into this big black hole in the floor?" She asked, sounding hesitant. She looked over her shoulder "You know what would be really useful about now?" 

"Being able to talk to a beautiful blonde girl who can see the future with nearly one hundred percent accuracy?" Blaise asked. 

"You think she's beautiful?" Sally-Anne quirked an amused eyebrow at her.

"I may not be in the house of geniuses, but I know a trick question when I hear one" Blaise replied, sticking her tongue out. Sally-Anne laughed, then turned to Hermione.

"I say we go for it" She said "If only because the alternative is staying up here and not going down there, or going to find a grown up - if you can think of one you trust to help us" She looked at each of them in turn, then smiled "You can't think of one either?"

"Perhaps Professor Flitwick" Harry shrugged "But I think he would probably have to tell Dumbledore, or at least McGonagall" 

"Who would probably prevent us from going down there, or at least want to come with us" Hermione added. 

"Would that be so bad?" Neville pointed out "Having some grown-up help along might not be so bad....."

"Dumbledore has known about The Chamber of Secrets since Halloween" Harry said quietly "And he's done nothing to prevent the attacks - in fact he has been covering them up and has even turned Hagrid over to The DMLE to prevent them investigating any further" He paused "Would you trust him to cover your back?" 

"I guess not" Neville admitted. 

"So - the five of us it is?" Hermione asked.

"All for one" Harry nodded.

"Then lets go" Hermione drew her wand, then turned back to the hole in the floor "Here goes nothing" She took two steps forward then slowly sat down, and lowered her legs into the hole. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself forward and over the edge, and disappeared into the blackness. 

"Who's next?" Harry asked.

"No - who's on first" Neville replied in a deadpan voice. 

"Will you just get down here?" Hermione's voice floated out of the hole.

"I guess that answers that question" Harry laughed, then he walked over and lowered himself into the hole before pushing himself over the edge. 

"Do we wait for them to shout up?" Blaise asked. 

"Sally-Anne Perks, come on down!" Harry's voice came out of the hole. 

"Why me?" Sally-Anne looked at Neville and Blaise "Why not one of you two?" Before either of them could say anything, she walked over and dropped into the hole. Blaise walked over and sat down, dangling her legs into the hole. 

"Sweetie? You ready?" Sally-Anne called up. Blaise looked over her shoulder at Neville.

"I guess I'm next" She said, then pushed off and vanished down the hole. Neville walked over, then smiled.

"Third base" He said to himself, then sat down and dropped into the hole. 

xoxox

"Headmaster - Mr Weasley is threatening to floo his parents" McGonagall stood in Dumbledore's office "And while it is not generally permissible for students to do this in term time, I think that Ronald is going to do it whether we give him permission or not"

"You must prevent him from doing so, Minerva" Dumbledore insisted "Until we can determine exactly what happened to Miss Weasley, and exactly what the chamber referred to is, I would prefer not to bring outsiders into this"

"I understand, Albus - I would prefer not to have Mrs Weasley rampaging around the castle either - but Ronald Weasley is very insistent and while his respect for the staff, and the influence of young Percy will be able to control him for a while, I believe eventually his concern for his younger sister will override what little common sense he has" McGonagall paused "I think it is only a matter of time before he calls his mother" Dumbledore looked at her for a moment, then smiled.

"Hogwarts - please close down all external floo access indefinitely" He said in a calm, authoritative voice. A moment later there was a soft chiming sound, and he smiled.

"That should take care of Mr Weasley's attempts to communicate with his mother" He looked at McGonagall "Although if I could prevail upon you to close down the owlery until further notice, I would be most appreciative"

"Of course, Albus" She nodded "Is there any news regarding Miss Weasley?" 

"Not at the moment, but from what I understand, I think we will be learning something relatively soon" He gave her a cryptic smile "Please see that the owlery is closed, and that Mr Weasley understands that the staff will take care of this and that we are acting in his best interests"

"Yes, Headmaster" McGonagall nodded, then turned and walked out of the office.

xoxox

"When do you think was the last time this tunnel was cleaned?" Hermione asked, looking around the underground passage the five of them were walking through "Because the dust, and the spider-webs, are more than a little disturbing" 

"It's possible no one's been down here since Salazar himself" Blaise said, her voice slightly reverential "We could be the first people to walk this......." She stared down at the gravel, stones and small bones beneath her feet ".....path in nearly a thousand years"

"And it shows" Hermione ducked under a giant cobweb, then stopped dead "Oh dear"

"What's up?" Harry asked. Hermione raised her hand and pointed down the passage. Everyone turned to see what she was pointing at, and Harry's mouth fell open. 

"Tell me that's not what I think it is" He said, staring at the end of the passage.

"If you think it's a giant snake skin, about forty five feet long, then I can't tell you that it's not a giant snake skin about forty five feet long" Neville said "But if you think it's a giant egg custard with hundreds and thousands on top, then no - it's not what you think it is"

"Thank you, Neville" Harry grinned "Hermione?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"What do you know about snakes?" He asked.

"They tend to shed their skin when they grow" She replied, still staring at the end of the passage "And while I can't say I am an expert on magical snakes, most non-magical snakes grow around ten to fifteen feet with each growth spurt" 

"So we could be looking at a snake that is over sixty feet long?" Sally-Anne asked, voice filled with horror. 

"Maybe" Hermione admitted "Anyone want to turn back?"

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Yes"

"Anyone going to turn back?" She amended, then smiled when there was no response "Okay - then lets go" She strode off down the passage again, and a moment later the other four followed along behind her. 

xoxox

"I believe they are coming" The voice sounded truly surprised "Apparently they value your life after all"

"You're never going to win" The young girl said in a weak voice, then coughed "They're going to come and they're going to kick your slimy, scaly arse up and down this chamber"

"Language, young woman - didn't your mother tell you it's uncouth and rude to swear" 

"Oh bite me" 

"If this is what the next generation of magic is like, I believe I have arrived here just in time" 

xoxox

"Blaise - you're a Slytherin, right?" Harry turned to his friend "What is it with Salazar and snakes? Was he over-compensating for something?"

"Snakes are amongst the most noble and cunning beasts in the world" Blaise said proudly "You lot are just jealous because you are stuck with badgers and ravens" She smirked "At least you didn't get stuck with a big pussy-cat" 

"True" Harry laughed, then he turned back to the decorative door in front of them "So - same theory as before?"

"I can't see why not" Sally-Anne nodded.

"Okay then" Harry closed his eyes, and thought about Luna in the window of her home on Privet Drive "Open" He flicked one eye open, and saw that the door hadn't moved. Closing it again, he let his mind wander back to Luna "Grant me access to my chamber of secrets" This time he didn't need to look to know it had worked - the grinding sound of stone against stone made it clear enough. 

"I don't know what we'll find" He said, opening his eyes "Neville, Hermione - I want you to protect Ginny at all costs, and if you have time, see if you can work out how to destroy that thrice-damned diary"

"Yes boss" Hermione and Neville said in unison. 

"Sally-Anne, Blaise - at some point, we are probably going to encounter a basilisk at some point. I know I am asking a lot of you, but I want you to try to keep it distracted" He paused "Don't let it look you in the eye - there's nothing to filter its gaze and it will kill you" 

"You can count on us" Sally-Anne replied, and Blaise nodded.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked.

"Stay here and watch" Harry smirked, then continued "I'm going to try to kill the basilisk, or deal with anything else that might crop up" He paused "After all - I am The Boy Who Lived"

"tm" Hermione smirked.

"So clearly I should take point and be all heroic and stuff" Harry finished "Besides - Blaise and Sally-Anne have a way more dangerous job than me, and you two aren't going on a picnic" He looked back at the door "Okay. Here we go" 

xoxox

"Professor Dumbledore has your best interests - the best interests of everyone in the school - at heart, Mr Weasley" McGonagall looked down at Ron, sat on a sofa in the Gryffindor common room. 

"That's why he let Ginny get taken?" Ron snapped back "Tell me, Professor, why do you have so much faith in him when he makes mistake after mistake?"

"Professor Dumbledore has lead the light faction for more than three quarters of a century, Mr Weasley - he has earned the respect of everyone who fights with him" McGonagall said calmly "He has earned the respect of everyone in the country"

"And if my sister dies down there? Should I still respect him if Ginny is killed?" Ron glared at her for a moment, then turned his back on her. McGonagall stared at him for a few moments, then turned and swept out of the common room. 

xoxox

Harry crept into The Chamber, then looked around. Almost at once, he saw two things. The first was the body of a young girl laid flat at the far end of The Chamber. The second was a pale, almost ghostly figure standing next to her. 

"Hermione, Neville - go check on Ginny" He said calmly. They slipped past him and walked down to the end of the cavern. Blaise and Sally-Anne flanked Harry, and the three of them walked towards the ghostly figure.

"She's alive" Neville said, kneeling down next to Ginny's body "She's breathing, and her heart is beating"

"She isn't stunned" Hermione added "I don't..... I can't tell what kind of magic it is"

"She won't wake" The ghostly figure said "Her life is almost gone - in a few minutes I will have completely drained her life force, and I will be reborn once more"

"Tom Riddle" Blaise said, staring at the ghost.

"At your service" He gave a deep bow, moving his arms out in a sweeping gesture.

"The diary is your horcrux" Blaise continued "A part of your soul"

"So you know" Riddle straightened up, staring at the young girl "But the knowledge will do you no good - you can not save her. You can simply watch as I take the last of her life force - as I make her life my own"

"REDUCTO!" Sally-Anne's wand moved faster than any of them could see, but the blasting curse merely blew a hole in the wall behind Riddle's ghost. 

"The lack of intelligence in the next generation is truly a cause for despair" He said, shaking his head sadly "I am not - yet - a corporeal entity, Miss Perks. Your spells can not harm me" 

"And when you've killed Ginny?" Sally-Anne asked viciously "Will you be corporeal then?"

"Yes, but none of you will be" Riddle turned towards the end of The Chamber, then raised his hands. He was silent for a moment, then he let out a long stream of hisses. 

"Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Come to the Heir of Slytherin, greatest of The Hogwarts Founders" Harry said "Come now, and fulfil his glorious task" 

"That doesn't sound good" Hermione sighed, then they all turned to see the wall at the end of The Chamber starting to slide down, revealing a further, hidden chamber behind it.

"Blaise, Sally-Anne - get ready. Neville - can you move her?"

"On it, boss" Neville's voice came back, making him smile for a second, then Harry turned to face the newly revealed chamber again, before closing his eyes and ducking to one side.

"REDUCTO! REDUCTO! INCENDIO!"  
"BOMBARDIA MAXIMUS! LUMOUS INCENDIUS! SOLARIS DELA CONFLAGRATUS" 

Even with his eyes closed, Harry could see the array of spells Blaise and Sally-Anne cast - the fire spells shone brightly against his eyelids, making him scrunch up his eyes even more. 

"ACCIO ORBUS VIDEUS!" Sally-Anne's voice echoed in Harry's head, but the sound was soon drowned out by a scream of pain that was entirely inhuman in nature. 

"YES!" Blaise screamed in joy "Sally-Anne summoned its eyes out!" The basilisk continued to scream in pain as Harry opened his eyes to see it writhing around.

"Everyone - blast its eye sockets!" Hermione yelled out as she and Neville drew their wands "Harry - when we hit it - if it screams, blow its bloody head off!" 

"On three!" Harry called out "Three! Two! One! DO IT!" 

"REDUCTO!"  
"BOMBARDIA MAXIMUS!"  
"BOMBARDIA INCENDIUS!"  
"EXPLANA CAVANARUS!" Harry watched as four of the most powerful spells he had seen hit the basilisk at once. It reared backwards, and opened its mouth, letting out another primal scream.

"REDUCTO!"   
"REDUCTO!"  
"REDUCTO!"  
"REDUCTO!"  
"REDUCTO!" Five blasting spells hit the roof of its mouth, and a moment later Harry let out a scream of joy as the back of the snake's head exploded in a shower of gore.

"Hit it again!" He called out, then they all cast another blasting curse, turning the top of the basilisk's head into mush. He kept his wand raised, but the giant snake fell over on its side, and didn't move again. 

He watched it for another minute, then he turned and walked slowly but surely back to stand in front of Riddle's ghost, then pointed his wand at the spectre's heart. 

"So - Tom Riddle - what else have you got?" He asked.

"You think you've won?" Riddle sneered at him "I can feel her strength fading - pouring into me. And when I am reborn - when I am back - I will finish what I started with your pathetic, mudblood mother and her muggle-loving husband" Harry stared at him, his expression turning to horror. 

"You can't...... he was long after your time" He said in a near whisper. 

"He is now, and always will be, my future" Riddle said in a quiet whisper "But in a few moments, we will be...... no - no! STOP! DON'T!" Harry looked over his shoulder to see Neville carrying the diary over to the remains of the basilisk's mouth "DON'T......"

"In all my research, do you know the most important thing I learned?" Hermione said, watching Neville's progression towards the giant snake "Basilisk venom is - hands down - the single most toxic and destructive substance in the known world" Neville reached the corpse of the basilisk, then - with a single glance at Riddle's ghost - jammed the diary on to one of the remaining basilisk fangs.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Riddle screamed in agony, then he started to fade until he was gone completely. 

"Hermione?" How is she?" Harry span on his heal and walked over to crouch down by her side "Is she waking up?"

"I think....... yes, I think she is" Hermione let out a sigh of relief as Ginny's eyes flickered open. Harry stood up and looked round.

"Blaise? Sally-Anne? You okay?"

"We're fine, thank you boss" Sally-Anne replied. 

"Don't call me boss - Luna doesn't like it when you call me boss" Harry grinned, then looked over at Neville "You okay?"

"Yes, sir" Neville nodded, then added "You said not to call you boss" Harry rolled his eyes, then turned back to Hermione and knelt down again. 

"Ginny?" Hermione asked gently "How do you feel?" 

"Cold" Ginny said, then shivered as if to underscore her point "What..... what happened?"

"What do you remember?" Hermione reached out and stroked her hair "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was....... I was running late for my transfiguration lesson, and suddenly I felt a wave of blackness engulf me" Ginny paused "After that.... just flashes. A snake skin. A door with green crystals in. And a boy...... a very handsome, but very cold looking boy" She looked up at Harry "What happened?"

"You were........ tricked" Harry said, speaking gently "You were tricked by someone a lot older, a lot more experienced and a lot, lot more evil than you could ever imagine" He paused, then smiled at her "I will tell you all about it, but we really should be getting out of this place" He glanced over his shoulder at the corpse of the basilisk "I know that it's dead, but honestly - the further away we are from it, the better" 

"Here, here" Blaise called out. Harry and Hermione both held their hands out and slowly helped Ginny to her feet. 

"Hermione?" Neville asked "Did your research say anything about basilisk eyes keeping their powers after they were extracted?" 

"No, sorry" Hermione shook her head "But given what they do when they are still attached, it is entirely possible this is the first set that has been extracted while the creature was still alive" She paused "We could do some research on it, or some experimentation, but it would mean possibly killing a whole bunch of innocent animals" 

"Which would be a bad thing" Neville nodded "So - does anyone have any objection to me destroying them?" He looked around, but everyone was shaking their heads "Okay then" He drew his wand and pointed it at a giant slab of rock that had been knocked loose by the basilisk's tail when it was thrashing around in its death throes.

"Winguardiam leviosa" He said, and then floated the rock over to where the two eyes lie "Last chance - speak now or forever......."

"Just do it already, sweetie" Hermione said. 

"....FINITE!" Neville shouted, then smiled as the rock plummeted down and squashed the two eyeballs underneath itself.

"And that, as they say, is that" He slipped his wand back into his belt, then mimed dusting his hands off "So - does anyone else have any business here?"

"No"

"No"

"No"

"Hell no"

"Then - follow me" Harry set off walking back up the length of The Chamber, with the five other students falling in behind him.

xoxox

Lockhart peered around the corner, then slowly edged his way round it, pulling his trunk behind him. After the girl had been taken, he had decided that - despite the fame and good publicity that could be generated from being there - Hogwarts had become a little too..... interesting and that his future would be best served by leaving as soon as possible. 

He realised that he was letting down the Headmaster, but he was sure that a man as wise and as savvy as Albus Dumbledore would have no problem in finding a replacement for him as well as being able to deal with the lessons in the last few weeks of term. 

He continued down the corridor, glancing around every so often to make sure no one was following him, and that nothing was going to creep up on him, then he realised that he could hear voices.

"I thought Albus had locked the school down" He said to himself. He moved his trunk to the side of the corridor, then slowly crept down it towards the sound of voices. When he realised he was approaching a girls' toilet, he paused for a moment, then he drew his want and continued walking. 

He slowly pushed the door open, then crept inside. 

".....don't trust him, but we should tell him the truth" A female voice - a girl's voice - said.

"I know, I know" A boy's voice replied "But only about the basilisk, right? I mean - we give him the diary, but don't tell him what we know"

"Are you sure?" The girl asked.

"Yes" The boy said "If we tell him what Myrtle told us - what we know about this thing - then five minutes afterwards we won't even remember we were down here, let alone how to help Luna" 

"You have a point" The girl agreed "But we are taking this, and Ginny, to him now"

"Of course"

"I think not" Lockhart swept into the toilet and found himself facing Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and a girl he vaguely recognised.

"Professor Lockhart?" Hermione stared at him in surprise "What are you doing?"

"I was going to leave Hogwarts" Lockhart said, pointing his wand at the three children "After Miss Weasley...... after this young woman was taken, I felt that it would be better for me to pursue a career outside the academic arena, so to speak" 

"Because you thought Dumbledore or McGonagall would force you to confront the monster, or whatever had taken Ginny" Harry said darkly. 

"And needless to say, that was not something I was all that eager to have happen" Lockhart tilted his head "However, I think that now I have an opportunity to enhance my reputation and make this whole godforsaken year worthwhile" He pointed his wand directly at Harry "You see - I was patrolling the castle, ensuring that all of the students were safe and protected, when I came upon Miss Weasley, wandering - blood-soaked and injured - through the corridors. She lead me back to this toilet, where I found a dark lord torturing The Boy Who Lived and his best friend" 

"Let me guess - you managed to defeat this dark lord and rescue all three of us" Hermione said sarcastically. 

"Sadly, not before you and Mr Potter lost your minds at what had happened" Lockhart said apologetically "Of course, I blasted the dark lord into the pit behind you, and sealed it up so that he could never escape again" 

"That sounds like a good plan, Professor" Harry said "Except there is one tiny flaw in it"

"I think not, Mr Potter" Lockhart said, grinning broadly "Now hand over your wants, or I will take them from you"

"I think not, Mr Lockhart" Neville emerged from the hole in the floor, wand pointing at Lockhart's head "Because I have two more friends waiting in the tunnel, and while you might be able to take one or two of us, you can't take all six" Sally-Anne and Blaise came out of the tunnel, wands drawn, and walked around until hey were stood behind him. Lockhart looked around, then turned back to Harry.

"Mr Potter - perhaps we got off on the wrong foot....."

"You don't say" Harry smiled darkly "But, Mr Lockhart, today is your lucky day" He paused "Because I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse"


	13. The Hero Of Hogwarts

_"But, Mr Lockhart, today is your lucky day" Harry paused "Because I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse"_

"You are?" Lockhart asked, his wand wavering slightly. 

"Yes" Harry nodded "But before I do, I should mention that Sally-Anne and Blaise still have their wands pointed at the back of your head, and will not hesitate to stun you should you try something" He paused "I just thought you should be aware of that" Lockhart nodded, then Harry lowered his wand. A moment later, Hermione, Neville and Ginny did the same. 

"So what do you have to offer?" Lockhart asked.

"Right now, your fame, your public profile - your entire future - is in our hands" Harry said calmly "If we told Dumbledore, not to mention The Prophet, about what you threatened to do to us, then you will be sacked and almost certainly arrested" He paused "Do you agree?"

"I can't see that I am in a position not to" Lockhart admitted.

"We - the five of us - just killed a basilisk and prevented the return of Lord Voldemort" Harry continued, ignoring the fact that Lockhart's mouth, not to mention the mouths of all his friends, fell open in surprise "But none of us want the fame and notoriety that that would bring us - I am The Boy Who Lived and quite honestly, I don't need any more stories to add to my already existing legend" 

"That I can understand" Lockhart nodded, still looking slightly shocked. 

"So here's the deal" Harry paused "We will let you take all the credit for the rescue - for saving Ginny and for killing the basilisk - as long as, right here and right now, you take an oath not to take any action against any of us - including a young woman named Luna Lovegood. You will swear that you will do nothing to harm us, or take any action against any of us, except in self defence should any of us lose our minds and decide to attack you"

"What should I swear on?" Lockhart asked at once.

"Your sense of personal hygiene, your ability to talk to more than one person at once and your ability to sign your name" Hermione said flatly. Lockhart stared at her for a few moments, then smiled.

"Miss Granger - you have a very wicked sense of justice" He said, then he slowly raised his wand, making clear he wasn't pointing it at anyone specific.

"I swear on my sense of personal hygiene, my ability to talk to more than one person at once and my ability to sign my name I will not attack, harm or otherwise endanger or molest anyone present in this toilet or their friend Luna Lovegood. As I speak it, so mote it be" The end of his wand flashed bright white, and Hermione smiled.

"He's bound" She said to Harry.

"That's good" Harry smiled, then his smile slowly faded "Of course - if you break your oath, not only will you feel the effects of it, but every person here present will come after you - we will come after you and we will find you"

"And then you will know pain" Blaise said from behind Lockhart.

"And you will know fear" Sally-Anne added.

"And then you will die" Hermione finished. Lockhart stared at them, then nodded.

"Trust me - I have no desire to hurt any of you" He paused "So - what's the story?"

xoxox

"Headmaster - I am afraid I have some bad news" Flitwick stood in front of Dumbledore's desk "I have checked on my students, and two of them are missing"

"Which two?" Dumbledore asked.

"Neville Longbottom and Sally-Anne Perks" Flitwick replied "No one knows when they left, but they are not in the common room"

"Mr Potter and Miss Granger are also missing, Albus" Sprout added "No one has seen them since the alarm was sounded" 

"Severus? Minerva?" Dumbledore looked at his other two Heads of House "Do you have any students missing from your Houses?"

"Aside from Miss Weasley, all my Gryffindors are present and correct" McGonagall replied.

"The second year girls don't know where Miss Zabini is" Snape said calmly "However the idea that she would be with Potter and his band of...... friends is laughable"

"I would tend to agree, Severus" Dumbledore nodded "Very well - I would like the four of you to arrange some search parties to scour the school for our missing students. It might be that they heard the alarm and have taken refuge somewhere safe - if that is the case, finding them should not be too difficult"

"Yes, Albus" McGonagall nodded.

"In addition, I believe that - as reluctant as I am to do this - contacting The Ministry, specifically The Department of Magical Law Enforcement, should probably be our next action as well. Despite my connection with the wards, I have been unable to locate Miss Weasley or even gain any idea where she may have been taken. And there was no indication that any students were out of their common rooms which is, I admit, another worrying matter" He paused "For now I would like the......" He trailed off, staring at the door in amazement. 

"Albus? Are you aware you stopped halfway through a sentence?" Snape asked.

"I am, Severus" Dumbledore continued to stare at the door "However, I believe you will see the reasons for my surprise - nay, shock - in just a few moments" As he finished speaking, the door to the Headmaster's office was flung open, and Lockhart strode in - holding hands with Ginny Weasley and leading five other students behind him.

"Headmaster" Lockhart made a flourishing bow, then straightened up "I believe that you are looking for this young lady" Dumbledore and the Four Heads of House stared at him in stunned silence for a few minutes, then Dumbledore cleared his throat and sat up slightly straighter.

"Am I to understand that you rescued these six children?" He asked, the scepticism in his voice clear for everyone to hear.

"Yes, Headmaster" Lockhart gave a single nod, ignoring the tone of the Headmaster's voice "Although I must confess that it was Miss Granger and Miss Zabini who first alerted me to the situation"

"Indeed?" Snape turned to stare at Blaise, who stared back at him shamelessly. 

"Harry and Hermione asked me to help them" She said flatly. Snape stared at her, but remained silent. 

"And how did you two come to require Miss Zabini's assistance?" McGonagall asked. 

"We spoke to Myrtle earlier this year, and discovered how she died" Hermione said in a calm voice "She told us that the creature that had killed her had emerged from the block of sinks in her toilet" She paused "This was before she was petrified of course" 

"And why didn't you share this information with the staff?" McGonagall stared at her. 

"Because no one asked" Harry replied simply "Anyway - after we learned that Ginny had been taken, Hermione, Sally and Neville came with me to the toilet, and then - while we tried to work out how to get in - Neville and Hermione went to get Blaise"

"They went to the Slytherin common room?" Snape asked in surprise.

"Of course not, Professor" Neville replied, as if addressing a child "First - we wouldn't have any idea where it is, and secondly even if we could find it, how would we get in?" He shook his head "Blaise was already coming to find us, and we met in one of our pre-arranged places" He paused "We know that Blaise being friends with us is dangerous for her, so we have made certain that no one would ever find out" He looked around the assembled staff "I am sure that you would not want to risk her life by telling anyone, right?"

"Of course not, Mr Longbottom" Flitwick sounded quite offended by the idea. 

"Why would we want to do that?" Sprout asked in a similar tone. Neville smiled, while Hermione cast a quick glance at the other two Heads of House and the Headmaster - all of whom remained silent.

"While we were trying to find a way down to The Chamber of Secrets, Professor Lockhart came along and found us" Sally continued "Eventually - just as Blaise, Hermione and Neville returned, Professor Lockhart managed to work out how to reveal the secret entrance, and while he wanted us to remain behind while he went on to rescue Ginny, we insisted that there was safety in numbers, and that - as unlikely as it sounded - he might need someone to watch his back" 

"After all - if it had not been for the timely intervention of the village sage, I never would have defeated the Vampire of Vanawatar" Lockhart said with a winning smile.

"So - after promising to follow his every command, we all went down with him and made our way through the caverns below the school to the fabled Chamber of Secrets" Hermione continued the story "Professor Lockhart cast the spell to open the doorway, and then we went inside" She paused, then looked at Lockhart "Perhaps you would like to finish the story, Professor"

"By all means, my dear young lady" Lockhart gave a slight bow "And do feel free to call me Gilderoy - at least when we are not in class" He paused "I believe that my comrades in arms have earned search a right"

"Thank you, Gilderoy" Hermione bobbed a slight curtsey.

"You are most welcome, Hermione" Lockhart tilted his head, then turned back to the five staff members "As Miss Granger said, the door to The Chamber slid open, and we saw Miss Weasley lying on the floor of The Chamber of Secrets, unconscious" He cast a sympathetic look at Ginny, then continued "I rushed forward, intending to help her in any way possible, but as I approached her, a door slid open in the wall at the end of The Chamber, and....."

"A wall slid away?" Snape asked, sneering.

"It's true, Professor" Blaise said "The end of The Chamber was fashioned in the façade of Salazar Slytherin himself, and the mouth portion of Slytherin's face opened up" She stopped, then looked at Lockhart "Sorry, sir - I didn't mean to interrupt you"

"No matter, my girl" Lockhart tilted his head again "And what did I say about calling me Gilderoy?" 

"Oh no, sir" Blaise shook her head "At least, I don't think I can while we are talking about you saving Ginny's life - and the lives of all of us as well"

"Quite understandable, young lady" Lockhart smiled charmingly at her, and Blaise gave him a shy grin "But - as I was saying, the end of the wall fell away, and Slytherin's monster - the king of serpents - came out" He paused "It was then I realised I was very grateful for the company of these five brave students - Filius, Severus, Pomona, you can all be very proud of the students you have educated here. They didn't hesitate to help me fight the monster that emerged from the dark bowels of the castle" 

"You let children fight a monster?" McGonagall said, her voice bubbling with anger.

"We didn't give him a choice, Professor!" Harry insisted "But we were perfectly safe under Gilderoy's guidance - he directed us with the mastery and efficiency of a general, and ensured that we were never in any danger. He used Blaise, Sally and me to distract the monster from various positions around The Chamber, while Neville and Hermione moved Ginny's unconscious form to a place of similar safety, so that she would not get crushed while she was incapacitated" 

"The children - my companions in arms - ensured that I could take on the monster, using all my skills and art to take it down" Lockhart paused "And, after a somewhat protracted battle, where I faced death on many an occasion, I eventually defeated it. The monster lay dead at my feet, and I - once again - was victorious" He smiled another winning smile.

"After ensuring that it really was most sincerely dead, Gilderoy raced over to our side, to check on Ginny" Hermione said, taking up the tale "While he was obviously concerned about Ginny during the whole confrontation, it was equally obvious that nothing could be done for Ginny until the creature was dealt with - it would have been too dangerous to tend to her until it was defeated"

"I quite understand, Miss Granger" Dumbledore nodded, then turned his gaze to Ginny "And you, Miss Weasley? You are recovered?"

"Yes, sir" Ginny said quietly.

"And may I ask what was affecting you? And what had caused you to go down there?" Dumbledore asked curiously. 

"I...... I am not sure, sir" Ginny replied quietly, staring down at the ground.

"We believe it was this, sir" Harry held out the remains of the diary "After the battle with the monster, Gilderoy examined it, casting a vast number of diagnostic and detection spells" He paused "There was a powerful compulsion spell cast on it"

"I have never seen one more powerful in all my years" Lockhart interjected.

"Luckily, the Professor managed to neutralise the spell using the knowledge he gained from his many years of fighting dark creatures and equally dark curses" Neville smiled "Once the spell had been removed, Ginny started to wake up" He looked at her sympathetically, then took her hand "Happily, she doesn't seem to have any memory of what the diary made her do - it would appear it took complete control" He paused, then let his voice harden slightly "So I don't think that she should be punished for any of her actions, do you Headmaster?" 

"Of course not, Mr Longbottom" Dumbledore shook his head amiably "It would be quite wrong to hold this young lady responsible for what were essentially the acts of another person" He paused "I do not suppose that you learned who was responsible? Who cast the compulsion spell in the first place?" 

"No, sir" Hermione shook her head, then she held out the diary "However we kept the remains of the diary so that you - and perhaps Professor Flitwick - could examine it. Maybe you can learn more than we did"

"I will endeavour to do so" Dumbledore smiled "And I must thank you - all of you - for risking your life for Miss Weasley"

"Oh we didn't risk our lives sir" Harry said quickly "Gilderoy - Professor Lockhart ensured that we were never in any danger. It is he, and he alone who should receive most, if not all, the credit for Ginny's safe return" He paused, then smiled "I fact I will be sure to let her brother's know, so that they can tell their mother"

"She must be so worried about her daughter" Blaise said suddenly "Do you think, sir, that you should let her know that Ginny has been returned safe and sound by a valued member of your staff?"

"I will make that my very next task" Dumbledore nodded "However I think that - despite your insistence that you were all safe and never in any danger - I would like Healer Pomfrey to give you all a thorough examination to ensure there are no lasting injuries or ailments from this....." He paused, frowning "I do not believe you told us what this creature was, Gilderoy"

"Didn't I?" Lockhart looked surprised "My apologies, Albus - I thought you would have worked it out by now" He paused for a moment - during which Dumbledore's friendly smile faded then reappeared - then continued "A serpentine creature that has the power to petrify with its mere gaze. A creature that only Salazar Slytherin could command and control. The most feared of the snake family - the regent of reptiles and the most superior of snakes" He paused again, this time for dramatic effect "Salazar's monster - the creature that has lain dormant in The Chamber of Secrets since it was last released some fifty years ago - was a basilisk" 

"YOU defeated a basilisk?" Snape asked with more than a little incredulity in his voice. 

"The corpse lies in The Chamber still" Lockhart nodded proudly. He glanced at Harry, who gave an almost imperceptible nod "After the children have had their examination by Poppy, I believe that we - my compatriots and myself - would be happy to take you down there to show you the body of this evil - and happily now dead - creature"

"Albus......" Snape turned to face Dumbledore "Do you know what the skin alone might fetch? And the ingredients I would be able to harvest from it?" He stared in wonder at The Headmaster.

"I would imagine it would be quite a bounty" Dumbledore nodded "The school would certainly benefit from the sale of the various component parts - those we are unable to use ourselves"

"Headmaster" Lockhart interrupted politely "According to my understanding, it is the general policy for dark creatures that the disposal of the carcass and the....... parts is generally the provenance of the one who slew it" Dumbledore stared at him with a level gaze.

"That is generally true, Gilderoy, however if you are going to insist on the letter of the law being followed, I would point out that you yourself have said that you could not have slayed the creature without the help of the five students here" He paused "Which means that a case could be made for the proceeds being split between the six of you"

"Oh - no, Headmaster" Lockhart shook his head "You misunderstand me" He glanced at Harry and Hermione "I was not going to claim any of the proceeds for myself - doing a good deed, especially one such as this, it its own reward" He paused "And, of course, the fame and fortune I will garner from this is going to be far from inconsiderable"

"Of course" Dumbledore said in a toneless voice.

"No - I was merely going to suggest that, once Professor Snape has harvested any potion ingredients he is able to, the remainder of the proceeds should be used first of all to pay for the mandrakes required to heal the unfortunate victims - so that Hogwarts is not put out of pocket - and then the remainder is split between the said victims" He paused "I would suggest that the longer a student has been petrified, the larger a reward they receive" 

"That is a very..... generous offer, Gilderoy" McGonagall said, smiling.

"Indeed" Dumbledore stared at him, then moved his gaze towards the children "Do your compatriots agree with this? It is - after all - their money you are giving away as well" 

"Gilderoy speaks for us all, Headmaster" Harry said "We didn't do this for fame or glory - in fact, we would prefer our names be kept out of it altogether. We only did it because a person was in danger and we were in a position to do something about it" 

"An attitude that does you credit, Mr Potter" Sprout smiled "An attitude that - may I say - exemplifies the best traits of your House" Harry slowly turned his head until he was staring at her.

"While I know you meant that as a compliment, Professor, I would remind you that two Ravenclaws and a Slytherin also risked their lives to save someone they barely knew" He said, in a slightly annoyed tone "And while I realise that it is somewhat of a..... an optimistic ideal, I would like to think any student, from any house, would have done the same in the same situation" Sprout returned his stare, then gave a brief nod before turning to look at Neville, Sally-Anne and Blaise.

"I didn't mean to offend you - I am very proud of all five of you" She said, slightly apologetically.

"Thank you, Professor" Sally-Anne nodded, while Neville and Blaise smiled.

"We are, of course, including Miss Weasley in our list of victims" Lockhart said suddenly "While she hasn't told us a great deal about what she has been through over the last nine months or so, I would say that she - maybe more than anyone - has suffered from her involvement in this"

"Forgive me, but from what I understand, Miss Weasley was the one directing these attacks" Snape looked down at Ginny.

"So?" Hermione asked.

"So I suspect there might be a backlash from the public if we were to announce that - after causing several students to be petrified - Miss Weasley were to be given a reward for her actions" Snape finished, still staring at Ginny.

"Given Ron Weasley's big mouth, I think everyone will know Ginny was the one taken to The Chamber" Hermione pointed out "So if she is the only victim not to be compensated people will probably want to know why" She paused, then gave Dumbledore a dark smile while she held out the diary "We are the only people who know the truth, and since the wards allowed this incredibly dark and powerful object inside - an object that forced an innocent young girl to do some truly terrible things - I would have thought that keeping the truth between the twelve of us would have been in everyone's best interests" 

"Are you trying to blackmail me, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked.

"I would say she IS blackmailing you, Albus" Flitwick said with a slight smile "Because she is right - if it were to get out that a first year girl - the daughter of one of the more popular members of The Ministry at that - was possessed and controlled by a powerful, dark object that caused her to direct the attacks....." He trailed off, shaking his head "I think you should listen to her, Albus"

"Minerva?" Dumbledore looked at his deputy.

"While I do not like blackmail, I am afraid that Filius - and Miss Granger - are right" She sighed "It will also have the added incentive of placating Molly Weasley - or at least will go some way towards doing that"

"I see your point" Dumbledore gave a swift nod, then turned to Lockhart and the six students "Professor - can I trust that you will see Mr Potter and his associates to the infirmary, and ensure Madame Pomfrey examines everyone?"

"You can count on me, Headmaster" Lockhart gave another of his winning smiles, then turned and escorted the children out of the office, closing the door behind him. Dumbledore stared at it thoughtfully for a few minutes, then looked at his four Heads of House. 

"I am not sure I like this turn of events" He said quietly "I find it hard to believe that - despite the exploits in his published works - Gilderoy could kill a basilisk on his own. Especially one that has existed since the age of The Founders"

"That prancing poser couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag" Snape declared, then frowned "But if it wasn't him......"

"Then young Harry and his friends were the ones who killed the basilisk" Flitwick said, eyes widening "An impressive feet"

"Yet one that they do not wish to appear to take credit for" Dumbledore pointed out.

"Mr Potter has always been..... reluctant to embrace his celebrity" Sprout said thoughtfully "He avoids Halloween and anything else that relates to his role as The Boy Who Lived" She smiled "Perhaps he doesn't want to be known as The Hero of Hogwarts and doesn't want any more fame attached to his name"

"But it would help him embrace his destiny - the more people look up to him, the more he can provide a rallying point for the light in the future" Dumbledore leaned forward, eyes shining with passion "He has already vanquished Voldemort once - people would line up behind him to fight the coming darkness" 

"This is not something you can force him to do, Albus" Sprout replied "You can't make him become this rallying point - it has to be his choice"

"A choice he is actively rejecting at the moment" Dumbledore retorted, then he turned to Snape "I am also concerned about the influence that Miss Zabini might bring to bear on him"

"I admit I am a little worried about that as well, Headmaster" Snape nodded "Her parents were two of The Dark Lord's most loyal, and if anything her guardians are even more devoted. I believe there is every chance she is acting as a spy - befriending Potter and his little playgroup so that she can betray them in the future, possibly even take them The Dark Lord when he returns" 

"Then I would like you to ensure that doesn't happen" Dumbledore continued "Make sure that her friendship with Harry and his friends ends before September"

"I will try, Headmaster" Snape said "However the best way to do that would be to talk to her guardians, but I am worried that if I tell them then their reaction might be a little..... extreme" 

"The future of our entire world is at stake, Severus - I think that it is a risk worth taking"

"Yes, Headmaster" Snape gave a single nod.

"And now, I think I should get in touch with Molly Weasley" Dumbledore smiled "Then we should start making plans to deal with the remains of the basilisk"

xoxox

"And there isn't a spell that can do this?" Lockhart asked.

"Not that we found, no" Hermione shook her head "However if my plan works - and we get our hands on one or two recording globes - then you will only need to do it once, maybe twice and then we'll use the globes to open the doors after that" 

"So I can just cast whatever spell I want, while Harry says the proper incantation?" Lockhart pressed.

"Yes - the globe will pick it up, and not even realise it" Harry smiled "Plus if Hermione will do me a favour and squeeze my hand while you are casting the spell, it will give me an excuse to hiss - otherwise Dumbledore might notice that I can speak parseltongue and that is NOT something I want him to know" 

"May I ask - you don't appear to trust The Headmaster, or any of the Heads of House, all that much" Lockhart commented "I was curious as to why?"

"Personal reasons, Professor" Harry replied at once "And while I believe we can trust you, it is not something I like to talk about" He paused "Besides - Professor Sprout has always treated me well, and Professor Flitwick seems to have some level of honour that McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore are definitely lacking"

"Speaking of which" Blaise took a deep breath "It might be wise to have Luna ask for her compensation payment to be paid in to your vault, Harry"

"Is that doable?" Harry furrowed his brow.

"Yes" Blaise nodded "And it would prevent Luna's guardian from getting his hands on it" She paused "The Potter vault is one of the oldest in Gringotts - there is no way the goblins would allow Dumbledore to screw with it. So if you get the payment put in there, and ask the goblins to confirm that it has been paid in - Dumbledore won't be able to swindle you or her out of the money"

"Good tip - thanks" Harry grinned and she grinned back at him "Are you going to be able to get back into Slytherin without being caught?"

"Please" Blaise rolled her eyes.

"Sorry - don't know what I was thinking" Harry grinned again, then he and Neville pulled open the doors to the infirmary, allowing Lockhart and the three girls to walk inside.

xoxox

Luna paced back and forth in her private study, occasionally glancing at the wall at the far end. The enforced isolation was bad enough, but the complete blackout on the visions was driving her utterly insane. Not knowing whether they were dead or alive, if they were lying, petrified somewhere or were even now returning in triumph from slaying the vicious beast was - she was sure - going to cause he to do something drastic if the situation was not resolved.

She span on her heel again, then stopped dead as she saw a shape emerging from the wall. Raising her right hand, she conjured a sword and in her left she made a flamethrower appear. Then she took two steps forward and stood directly in front of the centre of the wall. 

She watched as the shadow completed to emerge, then raised her flamethrower and aimed it at what appeared to be the head.

"Stop right there, or I will destroy you" She called out. The shadow ignored her and continued to emerge from the wall, swarming towards her. She tightened her finger on the trigger, then almost dropped the flamethrower in surprise when the shadow started to speak.

"I know you can't hear me, sweetie, but it's Harry. We helped Professor Lockhart defeat the basilisk and rescue Ginny, and the seven of us are now in the infirmary being checked over by Madame Pomfrey before we take Professor Dumbledore and the other staff down to The Chamber to let them see the results of Gilderoy's heroics for himself" The shadow - which Luna now realised was actually Harry - continued "The corpse of the basilisk is going to be sold off, meaning that Professor Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey will have the mandrakes a lot sooner than expected" He paused "In addition, as one of the victims of this terrible year, you are going to receive some compensation from the proceeds of the corpse as well. But I will talk about that when you are back with us. Until then....... I miss you, sweetie. And I can't wait to see you again" As he finished speaking, the shadow receded into the wall, then vanished. Luna let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding, then vanished her weapons.

"Well - this is going to be a story" She said to herself, then flomped down on the sofa, grinning madly. 

xoxox

"Where is she?" Molly Weasley charged into the infirmary like a rhinoceros, looking around desperately.

"I'm here, mother, and I am fine" Ginny replied calmly from the bed furthest from the door. Molly looked round at her, then bounded over to the bed.

"Oh my darling! Are you alright?" She swept Ginny up into a hug, before slowly lowering her to the bed again "I couldn't believe it when Albus contacted me!"

"I am fine, mother" Ginny replied again "Professor Lockhart saved my life, and ensured that the thing that was doing this to me was utterly and completely destroyed"

"Professor....." Molly trailed off, then turned to see Lockhart sat on one of the other beds, with a warm smile on his face.

"Mrs Weasley - allow me to introduce myself. I am Gilderoy Lockhart, and it is a pleasure to meet the mother of such a strong willed young lady" He gave a slight bow "You should be very proud of your daughter, Mrs Weasley - from what I have learned, she has been under an immense amount of stress and pressure over the last few months, and she has come out of it stronger than ever"

"Oh my" Molly exclaimed, looking at her daughter with pride "Thank you, Professor Lockhart - thank you for saving my little girl"

"I consider it a privilege, Mrs Weasley" Lockhart gave her a charming smile "Now - enough about me - you should be spending time with your daughter" He leaned back, closing his eyes. Molly smiled, then turned back and sat down on the bed with Ginny.

xoxox

Harry watched from his bed in the other corner, and smiled. He was fairly certain Luna had got his message, and would not be worrying about them any more - and he was also fairly certain that Dumbledore could be shamed into fronting the money for the mandrakes since the Headmaster knew it would be paid back once the carcass was sold off. 

He let his gaze wander round the rest of the infirmary - making sure his friends were all alright. He knew that he and Luna would have to 'fess up and tell them the truth about Tom and Voldemort, but - for now - he would let them enjoy being alive. His gaze drifted back to Ginny and Molly again. He knew that the young Gryffindor was the weakest link in their plan - she knew that Lockhart wasn't down in The Chamber when she woke up, but he was pretty sure that she wasn't going to say anything about it. Especially not after Lockhart's virtuoso performance with her mother. 

His gaze drifted to their Defence Teacher - what Lockhart lacked in actual skill and ability he more than made up for in personal charisma and public presence. And now that he had another story to tell - a story far more impressive than any he had put in all of his previous books - he knew that Gilderoy Lockhart would not be returning to Hogwarts at the start of the coming year. Harry could already picture the book tour, the signings, the interviews and WWN appearances. By the time Lockhart was finished, Ginny wouldn't dare speak up against the story - not when it was her word against the man who would become one of the most respected Dark Arts experts in the country.

While a tiny, minute part of him felt a little guilty about forcing her into the situation, the rest of him knew that she had decided to write in a book that wrote back to her, and even if she didn't know it was a horcrux, she should have known that it was not a good idea. Plus - he added with an internal smirk - they did save her life and stop her from becoming the next Dark Lord ascending. 

"Mr Potter" Harry's train of thought was entirely derailed as Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape strode in to the Infirmary "Has Madame Pomfrey given you all a clean bill of health?"

"She has" Harry nodded "We are all perfectly fit and well, however she has advised that Ginny spend the night here - given what Gilderoy discovered about the diary, she wants to keep an eye on her for a little longer"

"A wise precaution" Dumbledore nodded sagely.

"But if you want to go down to The Chamber now, I think that Hermione, Sally, Neville and I - along with Gilderoy of course - will be able to come with you" He glanced over to where Blaise was sitting in bed with an anxious expression on her face "I think Blaise should probably go back to the common room now, if that's alright?"

"She is taking somewhat of a risk being here with your group" McGonagall said. 

"I know that" Blaise said "But I am not going to let my friends stand alone. Not now - not ever" She noticed Dumbledore and Snape exchange glances, but ignored it "But if I am excused?"

"Yes, yes - run along" Dumbledore waved his hand, and Blaise jumped off the bed. She started towards the door, then she turned and walked over to Harry.

"Thank you" She said softly, then leaned down and gave him a long, slow kiss on the lips. After a minute or so, she straightened up, then turned and walked out of the infirmary with everyone's eyes on her. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape all turned back to stare at Harry.

"What?" He said, looking entirely innocent. 

"I wasn't aware that you and Miss Zabini were...... close" Dumbledore said, sounding curious.

"And I wasn't aware that it was any of your business, sir" Harry replied "Now - are we going to go down to The Chamber or not? Because it is late, and I would like to get to bed........" He glanced down, then looked back up "My bed" He corrected.

"Very well" Dumbledore looked around the room "Miss Granger, Miss Perks, Mr Longbottom - you are welcome to accompany us......"

"Actually, Albus, this is my expedition" Lockhart said, getting to his feet and straightening his robes "And if we are to properly examine The Chamber, as well as the body of the monster, we will most definitely require the assistance of my brave friends here - due to the fact I was somewhat distracted during my sojourn down there, we will be relying on Sally, Neville, Hermione and Harry to fill in the parts of The Chamber, and the battle, I may have missed" He looked around "So - are we all ready?" Neville, Hermione, Sally-Anne and Harry all climbed out of their respective beds and walked over to stand to him.

"We are, sir" Harry said with a polite nod.

"Then - let us proceed"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor edits to fix a plot hole from "The Dreamland"


	14. Crossing The Rubicon

"The Quidditch matches are being replayed?" Harry looked at Cedric in surprise "I thought The Cup had been abandoned for this year?"

"The petrified students, and Mr Filch's cat, are going to be revived today, so the four Heads of House got together and decided that it would be a nice end to the year" Cedric smiled "Especially after everything else that has happened......" He paused, then blushed "But I guess you would know more about that than most"

"Just a little" Harry replied with a slight grin.

"When are they being revived?" Cedric asked. 

"Two hours, seven minutes and fifty two seconds" Harry said without checking his watch "Not that I am counting of course"

"Of course" Hermione sat down next to him, slipping her hand into his. 

"Anyway - the reason I came to tell you about the matches was that I need a favour" Cedric paused "Justin is going to be revived this afternoon, but he's been petrified for a long time, and I am not sure he will be fit to fly next week, let alone fit to take part in a match against Gryffindor" 

"So you want me to fill in for him?" Harry asked, and Cedric nodded.

"I've spoken to a few people, and they say you are good on a broom" He said calmly "And Hermione says you are very good with a quaffle, at least when you are playing catch with the giant squid" Harry turned to look at his friend, but she merely smiled back at him. 

"You think I can do this?" He asked.

"I know you aren't all that interested in playing, but it's one game and there are....... special circumstances" She said quietly "Justin will be all better by next term, so you can go back to watching from the stands" 

"Will I have time to practice?" He looked back at Cedric "I have watched the team play five times, but I could still do to spend at least some time playing"

"But I thought....." Cedric started, then blushed slightly "Sorry - I just thought with Luna being revived today, you would want to spend as much time with her as possible"

"Don't worry - I will make time to spend with my friends" Harry said, blushing as well "But if I am going to represent the great and glorious Badgers of Doom I don't want to make a fool of myself"

"I will talk to the rest of the team - maybe Tuesday evening or Wednesday evening?" Cedric suggested.

"I will be there" Harry nodded "Although I can't promise I will be any good"

"He'll be fine" Hermione patted him on the back of the hand.

xoxox

"Harry, Hermione?" Sprout walked up to the sofa where they were sat "It's time"

"Thank you, Professor" Harry bound to his feet, then looked down at Hermione "You aren't coming?"

"This is a moment for you, Harry" She replied, smiling up at him "I know we are all friends, but you can't deny - you and she are closer than the rest of us are" Harry looked at her thoughtfully, then smiled.

"I'll give her your love" He said, then turned and followed Sprout out of the common room.

xoxox

Five minutes later, they arrived at the infirmary, and Harry walked over and sat down next to Luna's bed. He glanced around and saw Ginny sat between the beds occupied by Percy and Penelope, Fred sat next to George and - surprisingly - Draco sat next to Pansy. All the other petrified students had someone sat with them as well, but he had to admit he wasn't sure about some of their names. 

He also realised Mr Filch was sat next to the bed on which Mrs Norris lay. 

"I want all of you to listen carefully" Madame Pomfrey said "I am going to start reviving the students, but given that they have been locked in their own minds - some of them for a long time - there is every chance they will be disorientated and possibly prone to lash out at anyone near them" She paused "For that reason I have taken all their wands off them - they will be returned once I am sure they are not a danger to themselves or anyone else" Everyone nodded.

"Secondly - I will NOT have my patients stressed or over-taxed in any way. If I think you are going to be a problem, I will ask you to leave" She paused, then her face turned serious "And if you will not leave, I will banish you, and believe me when I say that is not something you will wish to have happen" Again, everyone nodded.

"Finally - do not touch the revived students until they are fully aware of their surroundings" She looked around "From all reports, their minds will have been active this whole time, and the stories suggest that whatever they have been thinking, it will not have been pleasant" She took a deep breath "Okay - if we are all ready....." She walked over to where Mr Filch was sat. 

"Argus - please forgive me, but I need to cast a pacifying spell on Mrs Norris - if she wakes up in a violent mood, it will make sure she doesn't run off or attack anyone"

"I understand Poppy" Filch nodded. Pomfrey drew her wand and cast a single spell, then she picked up the potion from the nightstand next to the bed. With another whispered spell, she opened Mrs Norris' mouth ever so slightly, then poured the contents of the phial down the cat's throat. 

For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen, then the cat started to change colour, back to its normal shade. In less than a minute, it was clear that it had been fully restored and was now sleeping, rather than petrified.

"Okay...." Pomfrey took a deep breath, then cast a final spell to wake Mrs Norris up. The cat yawned, then looked around. A moment later, it leaped from the bed into Flich's lap and began nuzzling his chest. Harry smiled at the look of utter delight and contentment on the caretaker's face as he stroked his cat. 

"I am not all that well versed in animal care" Pomfrey said "But if you wait until all the students are revived, I will check on her again. If she is still okay, you can take her with you - but bring her back at the first sign of trouble"

"Yes, Poppy" Filch said without looking away from Mrs Norris "And thank you - thank you ever so much"

"My pleasure, Argus" She replied, then she turned "So - who's next?"

xoxox

Thirty five minutes later, Harry let go of Luna's petrified hand as Pomfrey walked over to them.

"Mr Potter - do you remember the instructions?"

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey" He nodded obediently "Be kind, courteous, polite..... no - wait. Those were Dudley's instructions for being a boy scout" He rolled his eyes "Fine lot of good that did" 

"Mr Potter - do you want Miss Lovegood to be revived, or shall I leave her....."

"Revive her. Please" Harry almost begged.

"Very well" She glanced at the night stand, where Luna's wand was resting, then reached over and picked it up.

"Do you mind if I hold it?" Harry asked, then blushed "I mean - it's not that I don't trust you, but Luna has had an interesting past, and I think that - when she wakes up - she would rather know her wand is with someone she trusts absolutely and completely - someone she won't have to worry about"

"You think she would worry about me?" Pomfrey raised an eyebrow. 

"You report to The Headmaster, don't you?" Harry replied calmly. Pomfrey's eyebrow went even higher, then she gave a shrug and handed him Luna's wand. He took it, and slipped it inside his robes, then fastened the buttons down the front. 

"It's safe - she won't hurt me" He said firmly.

"She might not realise you are you" Pomfrey pointed out.

"She. Won't. Hurt. Me" Harry repeated, and Pomfrey nodded.

"Very well" She pointed her wand at Luna's mouth, forcing it open the slimmest amount. She picked up the phial from the nightstand, then poured the contents into Luna's mouth.

"How long...." Harry started, then fell silent as he saw a change come over Luna's face. The pale grey colour it had had every since she was attacked was fading, and her normally pink cheeks started to return. 

As he continued to watch, the newly returned pink colour spread down her neck, then below the night gown, then the blankets. Without waiting for Pomfrey's permission, he reached down to the end of the bed and flipped the blankets back, revealing her two feet - still the pale grey of petrification.

"Mr Potter......" Pomfrey said warningly, but he ignored her, continuing to stare at her feet. Nearly a minute and a half after the potion had been administered, he let out a sigh of relief as the pink colour emerged from under the blankets and spread into her feet - along the soles and up to the tips of her toes. 

"You know - if you'd wanted to see how I was doing, you could have asked me" Luna's voice came out in a near whisper "You know how much I hate my feet being cold, sweetie" Harry let out a soft laugh, then slowly folded the blankets back over her feet before turning back to gaze into her eyes.

"How are you feeling, Miss Lovegood?" Pomfrey asked in her Healer's tone. 

"Fine, thank you, Madame Pomfrey" Luna turned her head to look at them. She paused for a few seconds, then smiled "I can wiggle my fingers and toes" She then lifted her arms, making the blankets rise up, before lowering them again "And my arms and......" The blankets at the bottom of the bed lifted up then dropped down "....and legs" She paused, then her eyes widened in surprise. Turning, she looked at Harry "And I can see"

"See?" Pomfrey blinked in surprise "Of course you can see"

"Sorry, Madame Pomfrey" Luna looked back at her "Hermione told me about a film where one of the long term effects of petrification could be temporary blindness. I was just happy that it wasn't" 

"I have never heard that" Pomfrey looked at her curiously "Where....."

"It's a film about a....." Harry trailed off, then smiled "A magic order of knights who defend the galaxy against danger and bad guys. But it's from her world, so you probably haven't seen it" Pomfrey stared at him for a few moments, then shrugged.

"Very well, Mr Potter, Miss Lovegood" She paused, then looked down at Luna "Miss Lovegood - I would like you to remain here overnight, so that I can keep you under observation" 

"Yes, M'am" Luna nodded her head "I understand"

"Good" Pomfrey moved her gaze to Harry "You have five minutes, Mr Potter, then I must ask you to leave. Miss Lovegood needs her rest"

"Yes, M'am" Harry nodded, then - as the healer walked away - he looked back at Luna "They're back?"

"Yes" Luna said in a whisper "As soon as the petrification started to fade, I could feel them starting to flood back into my mind" She paused "Good look with the game" Harry laughed.

"I don't suppose....."

"I haven't changed that much, sweetie" She said, grinning in amusement.

"Good to hear" He paused, then reached out and took her hand "How are you, really?"

"The barrier is down, and I will be waiting in The Nexus. Summon everyone you can - I realise our friend from the south might not be able to make it, but I'd like the others"

"Consider it done, my Lady" He grinned again, then stood up "Sleep well, sweetie, and I will see you tomorrow"

"Yes, dear" Luna smiled, then closed her eyes "I am a Jedi, like my father before me" Harry gave her a soft smile as she fell asleep, then turned and walked out of the infirmary.

xoxox

"Long ago, far away and so much better than it is today"

xoxox

"Power corrupts, but absolute power is fun"

xoxox

"For love, for friendship, for what is right"

xoxox

"Your gerkin's for ferkin' not jerkin'"

xoxox

Harry appeared in The Nexus, then smiled as Hermione, Neville and Sally-Anne faded into view a moment later.

"Is she here?" Hermione asked, looking around.

"She said she would be" Harry nodded, then they all looked around as they heard singing coming from the next room.

_There is a castle on a cloud,  
I like to go there in my sleep_

Harry grinned, then bolted out of the Command and Control room, Hermione, Neville and Sally-Anne on his heels.

A few moments later, they all skidded to a halt in the library, making Luna giggle.

"You all look utterly adorable when you do that in perfect unison" She said, then walked over and pulled Sally-Anne into a hug. One by one, she hugged each of them, until she reached Harry. Staring at him for a few moments, she walked up to him, slipped her arms around him, and pulled him into a long, slow kiss.

The other three watched in silence until Luna pulled away.

"I've been waiting to do that for nearly three months" She said, then - realising she had an audience - blushed slightly "Sorry - I couldn't help myself"

"You aren't the only one" Sally-Anne said with a slight smirk. Luna looked at her for a moment, then back at Harry. 

"Sweetie?"

"Blaise wanted to screw with Dumbledore and his minions" Harry said "They know about our.... friendship now, and I don't think they are all that happy about it"

"They aren't" Luna said "But I'll tell you about that in a moment"

"Anyway - Blaise decided to give them something else to think about" Hermione smirked "Plus who hasn't fantasised - at least once or twice - about kissing Harry?" She looked round as both Neville and Sally-Anne raised their hands "Oh shut up"

"Anyway - she gave me a little....." Both Hermione and Sally-Anne snorted in amusement "..... alright - a long kiss before she went back to the Slytherin common room" He paused "Now that you're back - I don't suppose you can tell us what the outcome of this might be?"

"That's kind of a long story" Luna said "One that I'd rather wait until Blaise is here to tell" She paused "It's one of those privacy things" 

"We understand" Sally-Anne said, then blinked twice "You're back? I mean - you can see again?"

"Now that I am not petrified, and now that you have made sure the part of Voldemort's soul that was trapped in the diary has been banished to the ether, my visions are back to where they were before, and at a guess I can see maybe a month, possibly two in to the future" Luna beamed at them "I think all that time resting may have made them a little stronger" She paused "Huh - who knew there was an upside to being petrified by a basilisk?" 

"So - two months?" Neville asked "Anything you can tell us?"

"Firstly - I am sorry about lying to you" She looked around "I knew who the horcrux belonged to and I lied to you - all of you - about it" She glanced at Harry "I also asked Harry to lie to you too - so don't blame him for not telling you"

"You had a good reason for lying, I take it?" Neville asked.

"Yes" Luna nodded.

"Then I think we should leave it in the past" He said, and the others nodded "Because I - for one - am far more interested in the near future" He stared at her, and she grinned.

"The Express is going to be delayed by a flock of geese on the track" Luna replied in a deadpan voice, making Neville laugh.

"Sorry" He said, tilting his head "But I was mostly curious as to whether the rest of term is going to be - relatively - peaceful and calm" 

"Oh - right" Luna grinned "The basilisk is dead, Lockhart will stick to the deal you made and will not be returning next year, Ginny won't say anything - she is still getting over being possessed and feeling a bit of a twit for writing in the diary in the first place, and......" She closed her eyes for a moment ".....and Dumbledore and his little bird group won't work out the truth about the diary" She paused "Oh - Myrtle is going to keep quiet as well. Dumbledore knows she knows, but there is very little he can do to make her talk" She smiled "And if she thinks he is going to find a way, she'll simply pass over and put herself out of his grasp"

"She'd do that? For us?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"The five of you rushed to save someone you barely knew, without giving a thought for your own lives" Luna looked at them "I know you were doing it for a lot of other reasons, but the fact is you knew you were going to face a basilisk and that there was every chance it would kill one or more of you, yet you still went down" They fell silent for a moment, then Harry smiled.

"But you still won't tell me about the match I am going to play in in a week's time?" He smirked.

"Aside from the fact it will be interrupted by a plague of locusts, then five dozen dolphins will fall from the sky and land on Cedric's head?" Luna asked innocently. 

xoxox

"The diary is dark, Albus" Flitwick said "Or should I say - it was dark" He turned it over in his hands "Whatever Lockhart did to it, it's destroyed whatever was infecting it" 

"You really think that buffoon managed to do anything?" Snape asked with a sneer.

"Whether it was Gilderoy or the children, someone managed to remove whatever darkness was in it" Flitwick said "It is dripping with residue - whatever was in this was not something a child should be exposed to - but I can say, with absolute certainty, that it is absolutely clean" He put it down on Dumbledore's desk "Whoever gave this to Miss Weasley needs to be found - found and punished" He looked up at Dumbledore "This was nothing less than attempted murder - attempted mass murder" 

"I am afraid it's going to be hard to prove anything, Filius" Dumbledore said with a sigh "I've already spoken to Molly and Ginny - neither of them have any idea where the diary came from, nor how it got into Ginny's possession"

"The DMLE are allowed to use legilimency in extreme cases" McGonagall said "If we were to involve them, they might be able to look through Miss Weasley's memories to find out when she acquired this object, even if they can't find out who gave it her"

"Molly would never agree to her child being subjected to such a process" Dumbledore shook his head "Even at its best, it is incredibly invasive and painful - it would give her daughter nightmares for months"

"You sound very sure about this, Albus" Sprout said "Have you spoken to her about it already?"

"I feel I know her well enough to speak for her in this matter" Dumbledore replied calmly.

"So it has nothing to do with not wanting The DMLE to investigate the attacks at Hogwarts?" Sprout raised an eyebrow.

"That suggestion is beneath you, Pomona, so I will not dignify it with a proper response" Dumbledore's tone was obviously patronising "For now, I will ask Alastor to see what he can find out, as well as one or two of my other associates" He paused "In the meantime, see what you can do with the diary, Filius. Severus, if you could give him a hand with it? I think there is more than meets the eye"

"Yes, Albus" Flitwick and Snape both nodded. 

"Minerva - could you talk to Myrtle? She has been haunting that toilet since her death, and may know something that could be of use" 

"Of course, Albus" McGonagall nodded "However......"

"You are about to tell me that there is not a lot you can do if she is unwilling to talk?" He asked, and she nodded "All I ask is that you do your best, Minerva"

"As always, Albus"

"Thank you"

xoxox

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME TO THE LAST GAME OF THE YEAR!" Lee Jordan's magnified voice filled every corner of the Quidditch pitch "As I said, today's game is the last of the six matches, and the third of the three matches postponed during the recent...... problems we have had" He paused "But enough of the past - or at least the bad parts. Today we see The Hufflepuff Badgers taken on The Gryffindor Lions in the final match of The Quidditch Cup, in a game that, I have to admit, does not hold a lot of promise for The Lions" There were a few boos around the pitch "I know, I know - it kills me to say it, but after the catastrophic losses to both Slytherin and Ravenclaw, Gryffindor - sadly - has no chance of winning anything. Even if they win by a million points, which seems unlikely, they would still end up in third place" A few sarcastic woos came from The Gryffindor stands "Hufflepuff, however, have everything to play for" There was a burst of cheers from the Hufflepuff end of the stadium.

"Their victory over Ravenclaw was a work of brilliance, and the draw against Slytherin means they will at least finish in second place" Lee continued "But a victory in this game would hand them The Quidditch Cup" Another burst of cheers echoed from the Hufflepuff stands.

"However it is slightly more interesting than just a simple win/loss result" Lee said, talking over the cheers "Because while a simple victory will give Hufflepuff The Cup, it will also give The Cup to Slytherin" The cheers came from another portion of the stands "After the stunning and incredibly improbable perfect draw between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, the House of Green and Silver have a record of two wins and a draw, but more importantly a goal difference of ten points. This means that Hufflepuff has to win the game today by at least two goals to claim The Cup outright, rather than just one" He paused "All of these circumstances make for one of the most exciting finales to The Quidditch Cup in years. So now - without further ado - lets meet the teams who will - hopefully - provide a match fitting for the circumstances" The gates to the two changing room opened up.

"For Gryffindor, we have Johnson, Spinnett, Bell, Weasley, Weasley, Wood and - filling in for the still recovering Miss Weasley and playing his first game at Seeker - Cormac McLaggen!" The Gryffindor's applauded, cheered, stamped and wooted as the seven Gryffindor players flew out on to the pitch. 

"Meanwhile, for Hufflepuff, we have Turner, Michaels, Saffron, Tedareux, Mayson, Diggory and in his first game as chaser, filling in for the indisposed Mr Finch-Fletchley, Harry Potter!" There was a stunned silence as Harry flew out on to the pitch, along with his team members.

"Does this mean they like Cormac better than me?" Harry asked in an offhand manner, making Cedric laugh.

"I think you just took them by surprise" He replied "Give them a few minutes to get used to it and they'll be cheering for you as much as you could desire"

"This is what I really desire" Harry said quietly. Cedric smiled, then nodded to Rachel Turner, who flew up to face Alicia Spinnett with Madame Hooch bracketed between them.

"Good clean game - you both know the drill by now" The flying teacher looked at them both "Ready?" They both nodded, and she raised the quaffle "Then may the best team win. And GO!" She flung the quaffle up into the air, flying backwards as she did.

xoxox

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked Luna quietly. Despite the importance of the game, she was sat between Luna and Neville, while Sally-Anne sat on the other side of Luna, holding her hand. 

"If you ask me that again, things will go badly for you" Luna replied with a slight smirk on her face.

"You know how scary that sounds, right?" Hermione said, and Luna merely smiled back at her. 

"To answer your question - I am feeling better. I had it a lot less bad than the others who were petrified, remember - at least I had my friends to talk to while I was out. The others......" She trailed off, shivering. 

"I hadn't thought about it that way" Hermione admitted, then she looked back at the pitch, where Harry was flying the quaffle towards the Slytherin goals "He's good - especially given how little practice he's had"

"He's a natural flier" Luna nodded "Just like you - despite not being born to it - are a natural mage" Hermione looked at her, blinking in surprise "Oh don't tell me you hadn't realised"

"I have brains, but apparently only Ravenclaws get the wisdom" Hermione said, voice hushed "So what does it mean? I mean - do natural born mages have special super powers?" Luna snorted in amusement, making Hermione blush "You could've just said no"

"Sorry" Luna smiled, still amused "Call it making up for lost time" She chuckled again "It just means that magic will come easier to you than everyone who has to learn it. You must have noticed that you are picking up spells far faster than everyone else in your year? That you only have to be taught something once, that you can read a spell just one time and be able to perform it" 

"Yeah" Hermione nodded "I thought that was..... I just thought it was because I am good at learning and studying"

"That may be a small part of it" Luna admitted "But that - combined with your natural talents - means that you will be one of the strongest mages of our generation" She lowered her voice "May I suggest keeping this to yourself, or at least to our little group? While Dumbledore doesn't fear Tom the way most people do, he does fear Tom's power - and the fact that Tom is like you"

"I'm like...... I'm like Volde....." Hermione's voice trembled.

"No" Luna shook his head "The fact you are both natural mages means just that - that you are both natural mages. In the same way that you are both British and both have a middle name" She took Hermione's hand and squeezed it "All I meant is that Dumbledore fears Tom for the same reason he fears all true mages - he's jealous and envious"

"So I'm not like..... I'm not evil?" 

"You risked your life to save Ginny, you are standing by Harry despite knowing everything we are facing" Luna leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek "No - you are not evil, my sister" Hermione blushed, then they both looked round as the far end of the stadium exploded with cheers and whistles.

"What....." Hermione said, looking around in surprise.

"AND CEDRIC DIGGORY CATCHES THE SNITCH!" Lee's voice boomed out of the commentary box "But faced with the choice of letting Cormac - and Gryffindor - take the snitch and the game, Diggory catches the snitch and forces a draw" He paused "This leaves Gryffindor in last place - this tie gives them their single point" There were a few boos from the Gryffindor fans.

"Ravenclaw finish the year in third place, while Cedric's brave decision to draw the match means Hufflepuff finish second with two draws and a win, and this years Quidditch Champions are Slytherin, with two wins and a draw" The forest side end of the stands exploded into cheering and shouting again "The Cup will be presented at the end of year leaving feast. And with that, The Quidditch Cup is done for another year. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your evening" The magical microphone clicked off, and Luna looked at Hermione.

"Sorry" She said simply.

"Harry scored a goal on his first time out - and a quarter of the total goals scored by The Hufflepuff front row" Hermione smiled proudly "I think that's enough of a reason to celebrate" She paused, then looked over at Sally-Anne "And without your heroic performance against Slytherin...."

"They would won The Cup by a far bigger margin" Sally-Anne said "But it wouldn't have made any major difference - you'd have still come second, and we'd still only have beaten Gryffindor by points difference" She paused "Still - scoring a goal on his first time out is not to be sneezed at - I say we party"

"Ditto" Neville said, and Hermione smiled.

"The Library at Dreadnought?" She suggested.

"How about The Grand Ballroom at Paravel?" Luna countered "After all - if we are celebrating a victory, we should give our friend the chance to host?"

"And if they don't want it?" Neville asked.

"Then the dining hall at Anthrax will do equally well" Hermione replied "Whatever we decide, I suggest we meet at The Nexus and go from there"

"Agreed" Luna nodded, then let out a yawn "Sorry - still getting used to being awake again. Sometimes...... after sleeping for so long, it is hard waking up" She realised they were all looking at her worriedly "Don't worry - it will fade" She paused "Besides - I am not going to miss my glorious homecoming" 

"Something you want to share?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Not just yet" Luna grinned "But maybe later" She looked around, realising the stands were now almost entirely empty "For now - Mr Potter will be waiting"

xoxox

Later that night Sally-Anne and Blaise guided Caladan and Issi-Noho down towards Castle Paravel.

"Tell me again why I am flying back to my castle?" Blaise asked, but Sally-Anne merely smiled at her.

"Don't you trust me?" She asked in a mock-hurt voice. Blaise rolled her eyes.

"Remember who you are talking to - do you really think that's going to work?" She said with a laugh.

"Not really, but if I distract you long enough we will....." They both alighted on the forecourt of Paravel, and dismounted from their steeds ".....arrive at our destination" She held out her hand "Now - will you come with me, or are we going to stand out here and argue all night?"

"Do I get a vote?" Blaise asked, but then took Sally-Anne's hand and followed her into the castle. Keeping hold of Sally-Anne's hand, she followed her friend down the main hall, then off to the side. A few moments later she realised where they were heading.

"The Ballroom?" She asked "Why are you taking me to my Grand Ballroom?"

"To the victor....." Sally-Anne started, then she stepped forward and flung the doors open.

"SURPRISE!" Harry, Neville, Hermione and Luna yelled as all the lights came on at once, flooding the newly decorated ballroom with illumination.

"....go the spoils" Sally-Anne finished "We thought - since Slytherin won The Cup, and that you played quite an important part in that victory, we should celebrate your achievement" Blaise looked at her, then at the others.

"Who am I to argue with four such smart people?" She asked, then added "And Harry" He stuck his tongue out, making her laugh. 

"Now - we party!" Luna threw up her hands, filling the air with music, and making the lights pulse. 

xoxox

The last month of school passed as quietly as Luna had predicted. Their end of year exams - which Luna insisted on taking, despite being excused - yielded good results for all of them, and - much as they expected - Lockhart announced his resignation a week before they were all due to return home.

Their next to last day at school arrived, and Harry and Hermione made their way down to breakfast. 

"Do you think you'll be able visit during the holidays?" Hermione asked as they walked into The Great Hall.

"Maybe Luna, but I suspect that Dumbledore is not going to let me or her come and go from 32 - when you have a top secret prison you probably don't want to advertise its presence all that much"

"I suppose" She paused "But you and Luna? With the visiting?"

"I hope so" Harry smiled softly "And - quite honestly - I can't see how he's going to stop us. Not if he still wants to pretend he's our friend, at least"

"Mr Potter" They both stopped at Sprout's voice "Professor Dumbledore would like to see you and Miss Lovegood in his office after breakfast"

"I have Defence....." 

"He will give you both a note" Sprout interrupted "The Headmaster made it very clear that both of you were to attend the meeting - and that if you fail to show up, he will come and find you" Hermione stared at their Head of House.

"You realise how creepy that sounds, right Miss?" She asked after a moment. 

"Well - now that I've said it out loud, it does sound a little odd" Sprout admitted "But Mr Potter - I suggest you and Miss Lovegood go to The Headmaster's office after breakfast"

"Yes, Professor" Harry nodded "Is Professor Flitwick talking to Luna?"

"I was hoping that you would tell her - you generally meet for breakfast, don't you?"

"Yes, m'am" Harry nodded again "I will tell her"

"Thank you, Mr Potter" Sprout smiled, then walked past them and up towards the staff table. 

"So - what do you think the meeting will be about?" Hermione asked as they sat down at the end of the Ravenclaw table.

"My guess?" Harry sighed "About how we aren't allowed to visit each other during the holidays"

xoxox

Twenty minutes later, Harry and Luna stood in front of the gargoyle. 

"Do you think he does this on purpose?" Harry asked "To make it clear we answer to him in all things?"

"I wouldn't put it past him" Luna stared up at the gargoyle, frowning slightly. Then she smiled "milky way" Harry raised an eyebrow, but then the door to the office moved aside and a set of winding stairs appeared.

"Benefits of a classical education" Luna said when Harry looked at her. He laughed, then they walked up the stairs together.

When they reached the top Luna reached out and knocked on the door. There was a moment's silence, then the door swung open.

"I guess that means we go in?" Harry asked. Luna shrugged.

"Why not?" She replied, then they walked inside to find Dumbledore sat behind his desk, looking at them with interest.

"It would appear that you two have managed to subvert the guardian of my office" He said calmly. 

"If you are going to ask two people to come up to your office, Headmaster, most people would consider it polite to give them the password first" Luna replied in the same, quiet tone. 

"An oversight on my part - with the interviews for the Defence position and the usual end of term activities, it must have slipped my mind" Dumbledore tilted his head in apology "However you still managed to find your way up here without it. Would you care to explain how?"

"I am a good guesser" Harry replied. Dumbledore stared back at him.

"Very well - please have a seat" He gestured to the two chairs.

"We'd rather stand, Headmaster" Luna said curtly "And while the lessons at the end of term are generally a waste of time, I would rather be no later to Professor Snape's final lesson of the year than I must be. So - with all due respect - could you tell us why you brought us up here" She paused "Please?"

"Has anyone ever told you you are very direct young woman, Miss Lovegood?" 

"My mother and father encouraged me to speak my mind, Headmaster - it is a lesson I took to heart"

"And you believe your father is a good role model? Someone you should look up to and aspire to be?" Dumbledore's eyebrows nearly vanished into his hairline.

"I will believe what I see fit to believe, Headmaster, and I am not sure how it is any of your business"

"The man was one of Voldemort's most loyal servants and killed dozens of people in cold blood" Dumbledore's voice darkened "He also attempted to murder you the night we came to arrest him" Luna blinked in surprise, then let her face go blank.

"He raised me with love and devotion, especially after my mother died" She said in the same calm, cool voice "And with all due respect, I am done discussing my father" 

"Very well" Dumbledore said after a few moments "Given that you have become good friends over the last year, I would assume you have told each other where you live?"

"Yes, sir" Harry nodded.

"And I would also take it that you plan to visit each other over the holidays?" 

"Yes, sir"

"Even though you were both placed with those families because of the danger that you both face from Voldemort's followers?" 

"Yes, sir"

"Very well - I will not forbid you from seeing each other, but I would remind you that the wards around the houses protect those who are on the inside" Dumbledore folded his hands in his lap "If you are going to visit, I would ask that you visit each other's houses, and not spend more time than is necessary outside the protection that these houses provide"

"Yes, sir" Harry said for a fourth time.

"And while I would suggest you limit these visits, I suppose such a suggestion would go unheeded?" 

"Given a choice between spending time with my cousin - who regularly beats me up - and my Aunt and Uncle - who, when not insulting and belittling me tend to ignore me completely, and a young lady who has been nothing but friendly, supportive and loving ever since I met her, I think that your supposition is correct" Harry replied, then tacked on a "sir" almost as an afterthought.

"As I thought" Dumbledore sighed "Still - if you are determined to ignore the protection and the effort and time your families are putting in to keep you safe - at a great risk to themselves, I should add - there is little I can do" He waved his hand, and two pieces of paper flew of the desk "Give these to your teachers. Dismissed"

xoxox

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Luna put her hand out and stopped Harry. 

"Did he try to read your mind?" She asked.

"Not that I noticed - my vault alarms didn't trigger" He said "You?"

"He tried" She nodded "But the wards I set up held - he was redirected into the bubble of memories he set up" She paused "Plus there is a fair probability he will start to get suspicious and try it with Hermione and the others. Can you talk to them, make sure their alarms are up to date"

"I will" He nodded "When he can't get in, what will happen?"

"How about we jump off that cloud when we get to the end of it?" She suggested "Because right now, you have to get to your last lesson with Gilderoy, and I have to get to my last lesson with Snape" She paused "And it's so sad that I am kind of looking forward to it" Harry laughed, then they set off down the corridor together.

xoxox

"Good evening" Dumbledore stood up, looking around The Great Hall "Welcome to the last feast of the year - and to the seventh year students, the last feast you will have at Hogwarts. On behalf of all the staff at Hogwarts, I hope you have enjoyed your seven years here, and that wherever life takes you after this, you remember your time with us fondly" He paused "I have just a few announcements to make. First - Professor Lockhart is retiring from his position as Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher to go on a book tour. I know you all wish him well in his future endeavours" There was a mild round of applause from the students, although - Dumbledore noticed - the students at the end of the Ravenclaw table seemed to be more enthusiastic than most.

"Secondly - the presentation of The Quidditch Cup" Dumbledore looked over at the Slytherin table "While every year throws up it's own little quirks and foibles, this year - I think I am safe in saying this year will be remembered for the first true tie that Hogwarts has ever seen. Two seekers catching a snitch at the same time is a very, very rare event - even in the world of Professional Quidditch it hasn't happened more than half a dozen times - so I will say we are very privileged to have seen such a thing this year" He paused "And it was also a result that helped this years Champions on their way to winning the cup" He turned as McGonagall handed him the trophy "And now it is my great pleasure to award this years Quidditch Cup to Slytherin" The table on the right of the hall exploded into cheers and applause, bounding to their feet as they did. Marcus Flint - the Slytherin captain - stepped over the bench and started to walk up The Hall.

While Dumbledore waited for Flint to reach the front of The Hall, he looked at the other three tables. Part of him was pleased to note that most of the other students were applauding, but another part was less than pleased to note most of the Gryffindor table was doing it very reluctantly. 

"Mr Flint - congratulations" He said with a polite smile, handing over The Quidditch Cup "To you and your whole team"

"Thank you, sir" Flint nodded politely, then he turned and raised the cup above his head "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table burst into applause again, joined - in a more restrained manner - by the rest of The Hall.

When the applause and cheering died down, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Finally - there is the awarding of The House Cup" He said "The current standings are as follows - in last place is Gryffindor, with five hundred and ten points. In third place, Ravenclaw with five hundred and thirty. Hufflepuff are in second with six hundred and ten, and Slytherin in a very narrow first place with six hundred and fifteen" He paused as the Slytherins started cheering again "However - following the events earlier this year, I have some last minute points to hand out" The cheering tailed off as the Slytherins glared at him suspiciously.

"I am aware of the rumours surrounding the petrification of the students, and although I am not at liberty to discuss the whole story, I can tell you that the monster responsible for the petrifications was a basilisk - a basilisk that was brought into the school by Salazar Slytherin himself. The creature had lain dormant in The Chamber of Secrets for over a thousand years, until it was brought out of hibernation by a student who was being controlled by a dark object. The student is now fully recovered and entirely blameless in this matter, so much so that I will not be revealing their identity" He looked around The Chamber "The creature was eventually defeated by our own Professor Lockhart, and a group of students who went with him" He turned to Lockhart "While it is unusual to do this for someone who is not a student, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart has been given a special award for services to the school - an award that will be displayed in the trophy cabinet" There was a round of applause as Lockhart stood up and took a bow.

"The students involved have asked for their anonymity to be respected, so while I can't grant them special awards for themselves, I am going to give them points for their self-sacrificing act of bravery and courage" He paused "For Ravenclaw House - forty points" There was mild applause from the Ravenclaw table, but everyone realised the points didn't make much difference to the overall standings "For Slytherin House - twenty points" The Slytherins applauded more loudly as they moved further into the lead "And for Hufflepuff House - forty points" There was a long moment of silence, then almost every Hufflepuff student jumped to their feet and burst into applause.

"So I believe a change of decoration is in order" 

xoxox

"That BASTARD!" Harry and Hermione exchanged surprised looks as they appeared in The Nexus, then looked over at Luna, who was talking to Blaise.

"Luna?" Harry reached out his hand, but stopped when he saw the look of fury on her face.

"That stupid, arrogant, feckless bastard!" Luna repeated, then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly "Sorry - I am not angry at you - at any of you" She looked over at Blaise "But our beloved Headmaster has planted some doubt in the minds of some of the Slytherins - they know why they got twenty points, but they don't know who brought them" 

"So I am safe?" Blaise asked.

"For now - I can't see you being in danger" Luna replied "But the House of Green and Silver is known for its tenacity, and they will not let this go. And I am very much afraid that sooner or later, someone will think back to the night that you all went down to The Chamber, and will remember you not being there" She reached out, taking Blaise's hand "If I was able to stop this, you know I would. But....."

"But you can't" Blaise smiled "Don't worry - I understand"

xoxox

The next evening found the five friends getting of the train at Platform 9 3/4, where Hermione, Neville and Sally-Anne found their families waiting for them.

"So - I guess we'll see you next year" Hermione said, hugging Luna and Harry in turn "I'll miss you"

"Us too" Harry said, giving her a kiss on the cheek "But at least this time I won't be alone over the holidays" 

"Always good" Hermione grinned, then turned and walked over to where her parents were waiting. Luna and Harry bade farewell to Neville and Sally-Anne, then - hand in hand - turned and walked towards the portal to the muggle world.

"Do your Aunt and Uncle know I am coming home with you?" Luna asked.

"Telling them may have slipped my mind" He replied with a wicked grin. 

"Then I guess the next five minutes will be a lot of fun" She grinned back at him, then looked at the portal.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Alea iacta est" She replied, then rolled her eyes when he stared at her in utter confusion "Lets just say - we are about to start a whole new era of our lives, and once we do, there is no way back" He looked at her thoughtfully, then smiled.

"Oh good" He said, then - hand in hand - they walked through the portal.

xoxox

Later that night, Blaise jolted awake when she heard a sound in her bedroom. 

"Hello? Is there anyone there?" She asked, voice raspy with sleep. There was no reply, so she reached over and picked up her wand. 

"Lumos" She whispered. Then - as the end of the wand started to glow - she let out a scream as she saw the blade of a knife sweeping down towards her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor changes to fix a plot hole from "The Dreamland"


	15. Next Time on "The Seer" Quartet

_(A series of images flash up on screen)_

Hermione being thrown backwards out of the entrance to Castle Gondolin, while Luna stands in the courtyard looking utterly furious.

Two men with scraggly beards and unkempt hair stood in The Forbidden Forest, staring at Hogwarts.

Luna with a long, wooden staff in her hand.

Harry, Hermione and Luna stood on the edge of a lake with hundreds of dementors surging towards them.

Harry and Neville pointing their wands at each other.

Sally-Anne standing in front of a plain wooden coffin.

Luna and Harry standing back to back with wands drawn.

Neville and Hermione walking, hand in hand, through the grounds.

Harry and Luna crouching behind a hedge on Privet Drive.

**Luna Lovegood and The Wizards of The Island - Part 3 of The Seer Quartet**

_(a final image appears)_

A tombstone with the words "To The Memory of Blaise Zabini" carved on it.

**Coming soon to Archive Of Our Own**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ain't I a stinker?
> 
> **Copyright**
> 
> There are quite a few phrases I've "borrowed" from various sources (Wargames, Narnia, Middle-Earth and Meatloaf, amongst others) - these remain copyright and are used with all due respect to their original creators.
> 
> **Notes**
> 
> As is my usual habit, I am taking a bit of a break now the story is complete. So look for new stuff at the end of May - either LGB-TV or The Immortals, depending on my mood :)


End file.
